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FARMERS' SERIES, 



Vol. L 



AMERICAN SWINE BREEDER, 



H. W. ELLSWORTH. 




THE BERKSHIRE HOG. 




MPROVED CHINESE HOG 



AMERICAN 



SWINE BREEDER, 



PRACTICAL TREATISE 



SELECTION, REARING AND FATTENING 



S WINE 



BY HENRY W. ELLSWORTH. 




BOSTON: 
WEEKS, JORDAN AND COMPANY 

PHILADELPHIi. : HOGAN AND THOMPSON. 
1840. 






Entered according to an Act of Congress, ia the year 1839, 

Bv Weeks, Jordan & Co. 
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 



PUBLISHERS' NOTICE 

The present volume is the first of a series of books for the 
practical farmer, — under the title of Farmers' Series. It will 
soon be followed by works on Farming, Gardening, Ma 
KURBS, &c. &c. 

December 15, 1839. 



TO 

ELIAS PHINNEY, Esq. 

OF 

LEXINGTON, MASS. 

WHOSE 

SUCCESSFUL EFFORTS HAVE EARNED FOR HIM THE TITLE 

OF 

A SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURIST, 

AND 

WHOSE MANY VIRTUES HAVE ENDEARED HIM AS A FRIEND, 
THIS VOLUME 

IS 

RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED 

BY HIS OBEDIENT SERVANT, 

HENRY W, ELLSWORTH. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 



Object of the work— Three species of Swine peculiar to 
the Old Continent and its Islands — Different breeds 
of England — Those of this country, . . - 9 

CHAPTER n. 

Comparative influence of male and female in impressing 
tlieir descendants — Modes of improving Stock — Rules 
for selecting breeds — Crossing — Breeding in-and-in — 
Class of points for Hogs — Cooper's two rules for breed- 
ers — Times of copulation — Apportioning the litters of 
the Sow — Treatment of young Pigs — Tendency of 
Sows to destroy their offspring — The operation of 
Spaying described — Substitutes for Spaying — Method 
of obtaining the weight of Swine while living, - 35 

CHAPTER HI. 

Cleanliness and humane treatment essential in rearing 
Swine — Allotment of suitable and convenient pens — 
The proper method of obtaining large quantities of 
manure from Swine, and its great value — Pastures for 
Hogs — Modes of constructing Styes— Proper form of 
Trough — Stall pens — Notice of various Piggeries — 
Proposed plan of Piggery. 81 



8 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IV. 

On the comparative Advantages of rav(r and prepared Food 
for Swine — Interesting researches of French chemists 
on this subject — The necessity of some preparation 
evident from the experiments of M. M. Biot and 
Raspail — Fermented Food — Boiling and steaming 
Food — Results of various experiments in Europe and 
this country — Cuts, and descriptions of Boiling and 
Steaming Apparatus, - 124 

CHAPTER V. 

General remarks on feeding — Treatment and food of 
young pigs — Of growing stores — Soiling — Proper pe- 
iods for fattening and killing hogs — Treatment of 
fatting hogs — Food — Corn —Oats — Rye — Barley — 
Buckwheat — Beans — Pease — Tares — Potatoes — Car- 
rots — Turnips — Ruta-Baga — Cabbages — Parsnips — 
Mangel Wurtzel — Sugar Beet — Pumpkins — Sunflower 
— Flax — Linseed jelly — Artichokes — Acorns — Distil- 
lers' grains— Hay-tea — Apples, - - . - 176 

CHAPTER VI. 

Exhibition of the modes pursued by various distinguished 
breeders, in the management of Swine — Diseases of 
Swine, and their Remedies — Manner of Killing Hogs 
— Curing Hams — Erection of Smoke Houses— Pack- 
ing Pork, «&c. 252 



AMERICAN 

SWiNE BREEDER. 
CHAPTER I. 

Object of the work— Three species of swine peculiar to the 
old Continent and its islands — Difierent breeds of England 
— Those of this country. 

The object of the following pages is to pre- 
sent, within narrow limits and under propei* 
heads, both general information and practical 
directions, in regard to the selection and man- 
agement of SwiNfi ; and to furnish, as it were, 
a digest, which the reader can consult at ease, 
of the results attending numerous investiga- 
tions and experiments on this interesting sub- 
ject, whose records are now scattered too dif- 
fusely for general reference throughout the mul- 
tiplied agricultural periodicals of the day. 

Three species of the genus tSifs are mention- 
ed by naturalists as peculiar to the old Conti- 
nent and its islands, and are classed as fol- 
lows : — * 

1. Sus Babyrussa. — The Babyrussa con- 
fined to the Indian Archipelago. 

* Vide Elements of practical Agriculture by David Low. 
Lond. Ed. 1838, p. 595. Pennant's Hisi. of Quadrupeds, 
Loud. Ed.j 1793, article Hog. Keeiie's Encyclopedia, arti- 
cle Swine. 

2 



10 THE AMERICAN 

2. Sus LaRvatus. — The African Boai*^ a 
very fierce and powerful creature, living 
in holes and never yet domesticated. 

3. Sus Aper. — The wild Boar. 

Of these species, the latter is the one most 
generally distributed, and forms the parent 
stock of the domestic hog and its numerous 
varieties. 

The first mentioned species is noticed by 
several ancient writers, by Pliny and Aelianus,* 
as well as by numerous naturalists of a later 
date. 

Pennant, in his History of (Quadrupeds, fur- 
nishes a full length portrait of the animal. He 
is described as coarsely made, distinguished by 
two tusks of about eiglit inches in length, pro- 
jecting from the lower jaw and pointing to- 
wards the eyes ; also by two teeth placed in 
sockets on the outside of the upper jaw, about 
eight inches long, which bend like horns and 
almost touch the forehead. His ears are sharp 
pointed and erect, and his body covered with 
a species of wool, resembling that on lambs. 

The second species is the " Sus Ethiopicus " 
of LinuEeus, and the " Sanglier de cape Verd" 
described by Buffon. He is armed with four tusks 
similar to those of the Sus Babyrussa, but differs 
from that animal in the total want of fore-teeth, 
which deficiency is remedied, to some extent, by 
extreme hardness of the gums. He has great 
size and breadth of head. His hoofs also are 

•Vide Plinii. lib. viii. c. 52. Aelian, lib. xviii. c. 10. 
Bontiu's Hist. India. Valentine's Hisi. of the East Indies* 
Buffon, xii. 379, lab. xlviii.— Le Babiroussa. 



SWINE BREEDER* ll 

entirely undivided : beneath each eye are found 
hollows of loose and wrinkled skin, and under 
these large lobes or wattles, of such size and so 
placed as to prevent tlie animal from viewing 
any object immediately beneath him. 

Great numbers of this animal are found in 
the hottest portions of Africa, and they occa- 
sionally wander to within short distances of 
the Cape. Tliey are called by the Hottentots, 
KatNK b(i. They are also met with in the isle 
of Madagascar.* Owing to their extreme wild- 
ness, little is known of their history and habits. 
They are described as extremely ferocious, and 
living generally beneath the ground, which 
they remove with the sam.e expedition as the 
mole. In a few instances, crosses between 
them and the Chinese or other sows have been 
attempted, but invariably without success ; the 
trial resulting in the dismemberment or great 
injury of the animal to which they were intro- 
duced. 

There is yet another species peculiar, it is 
believed, to South America. We refer to the 
Mexicanus Moscihferus, or Mexican Musk Hog. 
Like the Sus Babyrussa, this animal also has 
four tusks, but those of the upper jaw point 
downwards, and are hardly apparent when the 
mouth is closed, while the lower tusks are al- 
ways hidden. The bristles covering the body 
are stronger than those of the European kind, 
and resem_ble those of the Hedge-hog. They 
are in general of a dusky color, and surrounded 
with rings of white. They are without tails, 

* Vide Flarcourt, Hist. Madagascar, p. 152. 



12 THE AMERICAN 

and on the lower part of the back is a gland, 
open at the top, which discharges a fetid icho- 
rous liquor.* These animals are generally 
found in great droves, and several instances 
are related of fierce encounters between them 
and the Jaguar or American Leopard. They 
are said to feed on ' roots, toads and all manner 
of serpents,' which they hold with the fore-feet 
and skin with great dexterity. If the dorsal 
gland is extracted as soon as the animal is kill- 
ed, the flesh, according to some writers, may be 
eaten ; otherwise the meat becomes immedi- 
ately infected. These animals are also called 
the P< cay Breed or American Pecay, undoubt- 
edly a corruption of the Indian name Pnqm- 
7Y/. .t Though these animals originally inhab- 
ited the hottest parts of South America, they 
have been by degrees scattered to a wide extent, 
and at the present time are occasionally met 
with by parties journeying west of the Mis- 
sissippi, and more especially by those who 
cross the Rocky mountains. 

To trace the origin and progress of the nu- 
merous European varieties of the domestic hog, 
though interesting, is foreign to the purpose of 
these pages. Those who are desirous of inves- 
tigating the varieties referred to, and especially 
those of England, are referred to the first portion 

* This gland has been erroneously called a navel. In Pur- 
chas's Pilgrimage vol. 3. p. 8b6 and 966, these animals are 
termed " Hogs with navels on their backs," and the Ameri- 
can Edition of Moubray on Pouitry, p. 157, contains the 
same mistaken appellation. 

f Vide Pennant's History of Quadrupeds. 



SWINE BREEDER. 13 

of the able article on swine in Reese's Encyclo- 
pedia. The following extract from Low's Ele- 
ments of Agriculture, will furnish correct and 
ample information, as to the most distinguish- 
ed breeds of England. 

^' The breeds of this country, as may be sup- 
posed, are very numerous. Those which may 
be referred to as illustrating the differences of 
size and character in the animals, are the folio w- 
mg: — 

1. The native hog of the highlands of Scot- 
land. 

2. The Chinese hog. 

3. The old EngUsh hog. 

4. The Berkshire hog. 

5. The Suffolk hog. 

The native breed of the highlands and islands 
of Scotland consists of a small race, of a dun 
color, with erect ears, rounded back, low shoul- 
ders and with coarse bristles along the spine. 
They resemble the wild hog in their general 
form. They are usually left to search for their 
own food ; and they will graze on the hills like 
sheep, and find their way to the shore on the 
ebbing of the tide to feed on sea weed. They 
are far inferior to the improved varieties of the 
lower country, but they fatten when supplied 
with proper food more readily than their rough 
exterior would indicate. 

The Chinese hog is of the widely extended^ 
Siamese breed of the east, a race which extends 
from the continent to the island of Sumatra, 
New Guinea and others, and to all the islands of 
the South Seas. The true Siamese breed has the 



14 THE AMERICAN 

skin of a rich copper color, but like all domesti- 
cated animals, the color varies with the condi- 
tions of climate, food and culture. In China, 
the color is often white, and it is with the vari- 
eties derived from China that we are most famil- 
iar in this country. The Chinese hog is for 
the most part less than the common swine of 
Europe, but is distinguished by its peculiar apt- 
itude to fatten. Its bones are small, its limbs 
short, its ears erect, its skin and bristles soft, 
and its general aspect delicate. The introduc- 
tion of this race has insensibly produced a great 
change in the character of all the breeds in this 
country. It has been made to cross the great 
number of them. It has diminished the size, 
but removed the former coarseness of form, and 
increased the aptitude to fatten. The juire bn'cd 
is' lif/h' (ynU'tvaled^ and it is through the medium 
of its crosses that its value is chiefly known. 
In this respect, the introduction of the eastern 
hog into England has been singularly benefi- 
cial. 

The Oh' EvgiirJi Ho-: may be held to be 
the type of the ancient swine of England. It 
is distinguished by its great size, its lank form, 
and its pendant ears. Remnants of this unim- 
proved race are yet to be found, but for the 
most part they have given place to the more 
improved variety. Although of defective form 
and slow feeders, the females are admirable 
nurses of their young; and when crossed by 
improved males, as the Berkshire, they produce 
a progeny possessing the aptitude to fatten, of 
the male parent, with the large size of the dam. 



SWINE BREEDER. 15 

The Berkshire was the earliest of the hn^ 
proved breeds of England, and is now the most 
generally diffused of all others. It was un- 
doubtedly formed by a mixture of the eastern 
hog with the ancient swine of tlie country. 
The great improver of this breed was Mr. Ast- 
ley of Oldstonehall. The modern Berkshire, 
however, is of less si2je than the older breed ; 
but still the animals are of the larger class of 
swine. Their common color is a reddish-brown 
with dark spots. Many of the breed are near- 
ly black, manifesting their near approach to the 
Siamese character; and sometimes they are 
black, broken with white, indicating the effect 
of the cross of the white Chinese. The Berk- 
shire are justly regarded as one of the superior 
breeds of England, combining good size with 
aptitude to fatten ; and their flesh is fitted for 
pork or bacon. In Yorkshire, Linconshire, 
and other eastern counties, there are breeds of 
a larger size, of a white color, and with pendent 
ears. They have been all, more or less, affect- 
ed in their size and character by crossing. >^ 

A variety termed the S'/ff'J/r is so named 
from the county of Suffolk, which has long pro- 
duced great quantities of pork, chiefly for the 
supply of London. The Suflblk hogs have 
been crossed again and again witli the Chinese, 
or the descendants of the Chinese crosses, ■<(> as 
to rcd^tai ilic size to suit the tastes of the con- 
sumers. 

A breed has lately been received, termed the 
Neapolitan * The animals are of a small size, 

* For further informaiion in regard lo these and otiier val- 
uable breeds of England, vide Reese's Encyclopedia, article 



16 THE AMERICAN 

of a round and delicate form. Their skins are of 
a coal black color, and at the first introduction 
they are almost entirely destitute of bristles, 
but when several times bred in England the 
bristles come. They have a great aptitude to 
fatten, and have on this account been received 
with favor ; and they produce good crosses 
with the native stock. They are probably of 
African origin.* 

Considering his extraordinary fecundity and 
adaptation to all climates, the ease and cheapness 
with which he is reared (thriving almost equal- 
ly well on animal and vegetable food) and the 
facility with which he is conveyed from one 
place to another, it is indeed surprising that so 
little is known in this country of his history 
and habits, and such slight attention paid to 
the improvement of so valuable an animal as 
the Domestic Hog. To a great extent, among 
many of our farmers, has the hog been consid- 
ered as a subordinate species of live stock — a 
mere consumer of the refuse of the kitchen, 
whose presence must be tolerated as a necessa- 
ry evil. The vast improvement to be effected 
by the importation of new varieties, or judicious 
crosses among those easily procured, seems to 
have almost culpably escaped the attention of 
those with whom the improvement of all other 
kinds of stock has been a subject of intense 
and constant reflection. Natural History 
abounds with singularly minute details of the 

Swine, and Farmer's Cabiret, Philadelphia Ed. v. 2, pp. 281 
and 315. 

* An importation of this excellent bleed has recently arriv« 
ed at Philadelphia. 



SWINE BREEDER. 17 

habits of many rare, and in an agricultural 
point of view, apparently useless animals. Vol- 
times have been written on the breeds, the 
treatment and diseases of sheep. Treatise after 
treatise on cattle has been multiplied, exhibiting 
in detail the change effected by judicious and 
continued crossings, to so great an extent that 
the distinguishing characteristics of the parent 
stock are scarcely to be recognised in their de- 
scendants while, with perhaps a solitary excep- 
tion,* little has been offered to the public, cal- 
culated to furnish practical information in re- 
gard to swine. It is true that now and then 
we find articles discussing different points con- 
nected with these neglected animals, scattered 
amid the pages of our valuable agricultural pe- 
riodicals. It is also true, if enjoying froe ac- 
cess to books and sufficient leisure, that we 
can, as the result of prolonged investigations, 
gather at one time much of interest, regarding 
the origin and habits of SAvine as the subjects 
of Natural Histor)?-; at another many facts 
calculated to aid or govern our estimate of the 
comparative value of improved varieties; and 
again, sound practical directions as to the best 
mode of treatment to secure the utmost limit 
of perfection. But the attainment of knowl- 
edge by a process involving such expenditures 
of time and research, is impracticable to the 
many, and sufficiently irksome to the fcAv whose 
situation authorizes and whose wishes lead them 
to attempt it, to excite a deep regret, that instead 
of scattered truths, and disconnected facts, 
though important in themselves, no plain, prac- 

* Henderson on Swine, 



18 THE AMERICAN 

tical. and connected treatise on a subject so im- 
portant can be found. 

Frequent importations and repeated crossings 
on them, liave produced within the last few 
years imuierous breeds of swine in this coun- 
try, of w^hich perhaps the most important and 
most generally known are as follows : — 

I. The Berkshire hog. 

I 2. The ORIGINAL AND improved China. 

3. The Bedford or Woburn hog. 
I 4. The Mackay hog. 

5. The Russian hog. 

6. The Leicester hog. 

7. The Irish grazier hog. 

8. The Byfield hog. 

9. The Moco hog. 

10. The grass breed hog. To which more 
recent importations have added, 

II. The Beltz hog. 

' 12. The Neapolitan hog. 
\ Independent of these will be found many va- 
' rieties, whose reputation is confined to less ex- 
tended limits, the descendants of some of the 
above breeds intermingled with the ordinary 
ones of the country. 

The Berkshire Hog. The merit of first 
introducing this valuable animal into the United 
States^ and more recently of procuring new vari- 
eties to cross with those already imported, is due 
to L. Hawes, Esq. of Albany. It is the opinion 
of many who have had sufficient opportunities 
of examining the first and second importations, 
that tlie latter and its crosses show an advance 
on the original Berkshire nearly as great as was 
conceded to that on the ordinary breeds of the 



SWINE BREEDER. 19 

country. For more minute investigation, we 
refer our readers to a plate of the • improved 
Berkshire given in the fourth volume of the 
Cultivator, and to correspondence with Messrs. 
L. Hawes and John Lossing of Albany, both of 
whom have recent importations. ,.^ 

The Berkshire has been crossed repeatedly) 
with the stock of the country, and its varieties 
are perhaps more generally known and sougfit 
for than those of any other breed. The high 
estimation- in which this breed is held, will 
readily appear from the perusal of testimonials 
like the following, given as the results of exper- 
iment, and by those whose statements are enti- 
tled to the utmost confidence. 

The report of N. C. Bement, Esq., of the com- 
mittee on swine, published in vol. 6, page 31, 
of the Cultivator, in assigning to the Berkshire 
a decided superiority both in England and 
America over all other breeds, continues in the 
following language : — " The history of the in- 
troduction of this breed among us was stated in 
the report upon swine made at the last meeting 
of this society. Since that time, the demand 
for this breed of pigs from almost every state in 
the union has greatly increased, and prices in 
some cases have almost exceeded credulity. 
Two hundred and fifty, three hundred, and 
even five hundred dollars a pair have been paid 
for them. Nor have they been found deficient 
in weight when they have had time to mature 
their growth. They have been fattened to weigh 
five, six, and seven hundred povmds, and one 
was brouglit to this market last week from Ful- 
ton county, purchased of Judge Buel, a little 



80 THE AMERICAN 

more than one 3^ear old, which weighed when 
dressed 633 pounds, the carcase of which sold 
in market for .f 56. B at it is not the great Aveight 
which this breed of hogs is brought to that 
gives them their great intrinsic value. They 
are docile, quiet, come early to maturity, have 
but little offal, give a large and excellent ham, 
one of the most valuable parts, sweet, sound, 
high flavored pork, and it is believed make as 
great if not greater returns for the food consumed 
than any other breed amongst us. 

" In corroboration of the high opinion enter- 
tained of this breed of hogs, I will state that 
Col. Williams, a spirited and wealthy gentle- 
man, residing on Long Island, desirous of pro- 
curing a superior breed of hogs, Avrote to his 
friend and agent in Liverpool to procure for him, 
irifhoift rf:i;<tid !o /'ricf-'. .v/.r /flsT'' of fh<' hrs-t 
breed in Eii^hnn!^ and take time and satisfy 
himself before purchasing. After diligent en- 
quiry, his friend finally settled on the Berkshire, 
as being considered, taking all things into view, 
the best and most improved breed, and purchas- 
ed seven, four males and three females, being 
the entire litter (the owner refusing to sell a 
part) and forwarded them to New York, where 
they arrived in October last." 

Of similar import is the following from the 
Franklin Farmer, vol. 2. No. 52, pp. 412, 413. 
^'' In point oi form, the Berkshire is superior, in 
our opinion, (editor) to any other breed we have 
seen, but this is only onr opinion. For thrift 
we deem them equal to any, and for hardness in- 
ferior to none. 'We have bred all the popular 
breeds but the Russian and the Irish, (which we 



SWINE BREEDER. 21 

propose yet to try) and so far as our own prefer- 
ences are fixed, we prefer the Berkshire for fami- . 
ly pork, and for slaughtering and packing, but 
the Woburn or Bedford for /rt/t;.//?/^." 

It is indeed true that the power of enduring 
travel with the least possible waste of flesh, is 
an object of the utmost importance to those who 
are raising hogs to be driven to a distant market ; 
and various considerations present themselves 
to one endeavoring to ascertain the comparative 
value of different breeds. The condition of the 
farmer, his means of raising stock, whether cir- 
cumscribed or extensive, and its ultimate desti- 
nation for home consumption or foreign mar- 
kets, are all matters connected intimately with 
the estimates of different individuals. Experi- 
ence has demonstrated that hogs of fine bone 
are most suitable for slaughtering, for pork and 
bacon, while those of coarse bone and long 
limbs are least affected by continued traveling. 
On the power of enduring travel^ belonging to 
the Berkshire breed, the following communica- 
tion from A. B. Allen, Esq., of Buffalo, one of 
the most distinguished and indefatigable im- 
provers of stock in the whole country, will be 
found at once instructive and amusing.* '' I 
should also add to his other good qualifications 
that the Berkshire carries much more muscle 
in his meat than other races ; is consequently 
leaner and therefore more desirable, and when 
butchered at a proper age is very succulent and 
tender. I have also found the offal of these 
superior breeds much lighter in proportion than 
the common hog, which again adds greatly to 
* Vide Franklin Farmer, vol. 3, No. 2, page 12. 



22 The AMERICAN 

their value. Possessing as the Berkshire doesF 
so many good quahties in so great perfection, 
together with his high weights, no wonder he 
has become so immensely popular in the south 
and west. And I pronounce him of all others 
the best adapted, in my humble opinion, to that 
part of our country. 

^' We now^ come to a more serious objection to 
the improved breeds which seems to have im- 
mediately taken possession of the minds of 
many at first sight of their thick solid flesh and 
fine bones, but which I hope to show has been 
hastily adopted and without making fair experi- 
ment of their poAvers on this necessary point. 
In many parts of the country the farmer cannot 
kill his hogs at home because he is so far inland 
that the cost of transportation of the pork would 
equal its value when arrived in market — he is 
therefore under the necessity of driving them 
some three or five hundred miles before butch- 
ering. Well, then ! inasmuch as the Berkshire's 
legs are not as long as a cranes, his nose like a 
pick ax, and his back sharp enough to saw a 
white oak rail in two at a single pass, he cannot 
thus be driven. But gentle reader, did you ever 
try him ? If not, myself and others in this vi- 
cinity have, and were we sporting men, would 
gladly back a promiscuous drove of Berkshire 
shoats for one hundred miles or any distance 
aboVe that, against any stilted legs the country 
could produce. For a few miles the stilts if put 
to it, I grant would beat, but for a hundred or 
more, though carrying little else than hair, rind, 
gristle, offal and bone, they woidd be found in 
the rear. And why should not the Berkshire 



SWtNE BREEDER. 23' 

drive? Look at him as he stands Avith out- 
stretched length and head erect, and notwith- 
standing his great tendency to fatten he has 
something of the noble blood horse sliape and 
conformation, which to a Kentuckian makes it 
easier to understand the wherefore of his good 
travehng points. 

" There is the fall, deep, powerful chest that 
gives his heart and lungs room to play and con- 
stitutes his wind. There is tlie thicli. strong, 
elastic muscle, there are the fine, hard ivory 
bones, and there is the proud indomitable aris- 
tocracy of spirit that, when called upon in the 
contest, gives him the will to strive and the 
power to come oif victorious. I have witnessed 
many a battle between the Berkshire and the 
comioon hogs when herding together, arid 
though the former was often much the smallest, 
he almost invariably flogged his opponent by 
real bull dog endurance. I will also give anoth- 
er example. I once purchased a lot of about 
fifty head of Berkshires consisting from the pig 
of a fortnight old to tlie heavy sow of at least 
three motlis gone in pig. It was mid-summer, 
the weather excessively hot, and though the 
way was but a continued up hill and down, 
over a gravelly and stony road, they accom- 
plished it, fifty miles in five days, without the 
slightest accident; not a single lagger, and with- 
out showing fatigue. Thus, at the rate of ten 
miles per day, which I understand is about the 
average of driving the common hog on the 
■softer and more level roads at the south and 
west, making a course that is at least two or 



24 THE AMERICAN 

three miles a day in their favor. In fine, this 
is a matter which the breeders ofBerkshires 
will not so easily concede, and though the requi- 
site with them is /^•>/7>•, notsi/rca'.^ still I should 
not be surprised to read in the spirited pages of 
the Franklin Farmer, within three months, a 
regular challenge to drive dark Berkshires 
against white long legs, streaked or blue, for a 
pair of good pork hams a side, half forfeit or 
half pay on a hundred mile course, loss or gain 
-of flesh to be considered as making or losing 
distance during the performance, coupled with 
an offer to give something in the start." 

In a letter from the same source, addressed to 
Hon. H. L. Ellsworth, from which we are kind- 
ly permitted to make extracts, we find the fol- 
lowing: — '-You will probably, sir, have noticed 
from my advertisement that I have two disrifid 
breeds of hogs, the Berkshire and the improved 
China. The former if well attended to, easi- 
ly weigh 600 pounds at eighteen months. Sev- 
eral of the progenitors of mine have overgone 
this weight. Sir Wilham Curtis, with whom I 
had the pleasure of an interview at St. Peters- 
burgh, bred one to the enormous weight of 
903 lbs., but such hogs are necessarily coarse, 
ivhic/i is a •.rfol fan t ir'n'li annnnLs uf any 
ki/ic/y in the eye of a refined and experienced 
breeder. I must say, that my own taste will 
not lead me beyond 400 pounds, but to suit 
western gentlemen as a general rule I am breed- 
ing to about 500 and GOO pounds. This breed 
is celebrated for the great quantity oi faJ-lean 
in their meat, are long in the body, making a 



SWINE BREEDER. 25 

ial*ge proportion of side pork, and yield large 
hams abounding in delicate lean, a great con- 
sideration with amateurs. They are undoubt- 
edly the best race of hogs, kept pure, that can 
possibly be found for the rich corn lands of the 
west, and the boars will produce a marked and 
rapid improvement, crossed Av^ith the common 
hog of this country. 

A writer in the Genesee Farmer, vol. 9, No. 
37, p. 284, in speaking of the niunerous breeds 
of the domestic hog existing in the United 
States, thus continues — " At the head of these 
varieties, whether for crossing or feeding, stands 
the Berkshire, a breed which, if it is of com- 
paratively recent introduction, has by its valu- 
able qualities proved itself worthy of a more 
rapid dissemination than any other breed has 
ever received in this country. That the Berk- 
shire pig is in equal favor abroad where he is 
best known is evident from the following ex- 
tract which we make from that standard work, 
British Husbandry, and which will also exhibit 
the principal characteristics of the animal. 
' The Berkshire hog is of a reddish-brown col- 
or with black spots,* the head well placed with 
large ears generally standing forward, though 
sometimes hanging over the eyes. He is short 
legged, small boned, of a rough curly coat, 



* Some objections have occasionally been made as to the 
predominance of black in The Berkshire of this country. 
This was accidentally the color -of the first importation made 
by Mr. Hawes. Many of the animals in a more recent se- 
lection made by Mr. Hawes for J. ^ " 
©rable admixture of white and black. 



26 THE AMERICAN 

wearing the appearance of both skin and flesh 
beingof a coarse qnaUty. Nothing, however, is 
finer than tlie bacon, (or pork,) and the animals 
attain to a very large size, having not ancomnion- 
ly reached the weight of more than 100 stone, 
but from forty to fifty when completely fitted 
is the general average. This breed has indeed 
obtained such general approbation from the best 
judges that those who wish to improve their 
stock of swine are very generally desirous of 
obtaining a cross with this race, and they are 
consequently dispersed over the most distant 
parts of the country. Some of the best of these 
crosses are found in Stafic^rdshire, from the pro- 
geny of an animal well known to the breeders as 
the ' Tamworth Boar,' The native breed is also 
usually crossed at intervals either with the pure 
Chinese or Tcnquin race, and the process is 
found necessary to prevent deterioration.' " 

( The Chixa Hog. Tliis animal is thus de- 
scribed by Pennant., one of the early natural- 
ists, in his Hist, of (Quadrupeds, p. 142. " Bel- 
ly hanging almost to the ground, legs short, 
tail very short, the body generally bare, (as is 
the case in general with the swine in Indiap* 

"Its wild breed is found in great numbers in 
New Guinea and in the islands of that country, 
which the Papuas chase in their canoes as the 
animals are swimming from island to island, 
and kill them with lances or shoot them with 
arrows. They are also found on the island of 
Gilolo, and resort eagerly to the places where 
sago trees have lately been cut down, to feed 
on the pith left there, which makes them very 



SWINE BREEDER. 27 

fat. The priests say they came originally from 
an island which they call ' The Mother of Isl- 
ands.' They are the animals which are sacri- 
ficed to the lesser deities of the Isles ; are 
roasted whole, placed on altars and there left to 
decay." *(It is to an admixture with this breed^^j 
that we owe very many of those fine varieties ^ 
to be found both in Europe and this country ; 
and indeed to no other race are European 
agriculturists more indebted than to this, for 
the great cliange in the characteristics of the 
native breed. Of the Chinese hog, there are 
distinct varieties, the White and the Blacli^ 
Both are small boned and thin skinned, and 
covered v/ifh fine bristles, and may generally 
be fattened to the weight of sixteen stone at 
tv/o years old. The pure breed is little cultiva- 
ted in this country. They are generally dif- 
ficult to rear, and the sows not unfrequent- 
ly prove bad nurses to their offspring. We 
are informed also.t of " a mixed breed of this 
kind, being white variously patched with 
black, some of which have prick ears like the 
true breed, which they otherwise resemble, and 
others have the ears round at the ends and 
hanging downwards. These last are in every 
respect coarser than the former ; but they are 
remarkably prolific, are good nurses and with 
proper care will bring up two litters within the 
year. They are, however, only valuable as 
breeding sows and roasters, for they are very 

* For farther information consult Lin. System, art. Sus 
Chineiisis, p. 101 — also Forrest's Voyages, tab. 2. p. 97. 
f Vide Farmer's Cabinet, vol. 2. p. 285. 



28 THE AMERICAN 

indifferent store pigs, rarely attaining any gre:at 
weight." 

An Improrrd breed of these animals is now 
in the possession of A. B. Allen, Esq. of Buffa- 
lo, who thus writes in regard to to them. " The 
Improved China is a real improvement on the 
original stock. They (the original) being too 
tender for our climate and too gross in their 
meat for general eating. 

" It has been a long process in proving them, 
begun in England and much added to in this 
country, as my friends flatter me, by myself 
Many hogs are called China that are but dimin- 
utive grass breed, or coarse lop-eared Byfield. 
We have plenty of both in the neighborhood, and 
tt would afford me great pleasure to show the 
contrast between them and my China, but I 
must now confine myself to merely saying that 
Chey are the easiest kept animal of the hog- 
kind in the world, and will return //.<? /nost pork 
for the same amount of food, of any known 
breed. Their meat is fuller than the Berkshire, 
and even 77iore dcllcatf, tasting when boiled 
and left cold, more like sweet fresh butter than 
any thing else I can liken it to. I have an- 
imals noAv in my yard, that if fatted would 
weigh 400 pounds, but 200 pounds would be a 
good weight at 18 months ; and boars of this 
kind crossed with common sows, owing to their 
extreme firmness of limb, depth and breadth of 
carcass, will produce a more rapid improvement 
than any other. 

The Bedford or Woburn Hog. The Wo- 
burn is a variety introduced by the Duke of 



SWINE BREEDER. 29 

Bedford, one of the most distinguished stockj 
breeders of modern times. / l^hey were firsd, 
sent to this country as a present from the Duke 
to Gen. Washington, whom they never reached, 
owing to their detention and sale by the person 
to whose care they were committed. They 
are favorably known throughout the country 
and their crosses constitute some of the most 
valuable varieties. Thomas G. Fessenden, Esq. 
in his excellent remarks on swine,* furnishes 
the following communication from O. Fiske, 
Esq., an able and judicious cultivator. " My 
hogs are of the Bedford breed, so called in Eng- 
land, and experience has proved to my satisfac- 
tion, that this breed is far the best which has 
been' introduced into this country. They are 
quiet in their nature, fat, easy, and with little 
expense or trouble I have had some weigh at 
twelve months old about three hundred forty 
pounds, and a considerable number of eight- 
een months old, four hundred pounds." Anoth- 
er strong testimonial of the excellence of this 
breed is found in the following extract of a let- 
ter from the Hon. Levi Lincoln, late governor 
of Massachusetts and president of the Worces- 
ter Agricultural Society, to the Hon, Oliver 
Fiske : — " I have great pleasure in voluntarily 
offering myself as your compurgator in the 
representations with which you have recently 
favored the piiblic, of the Bedford breed of 
swine. The care and perseverance which have 
marked your attention to the prospects and 

* Vide Farmer's Library, vol. 3. The Complete Farmer 
by T- G. Fessenden, 3d edit. p. 155 and 165. 



30 THE AMERICAN 

value of these animals, and the success which 
has followed your exertions to introduce them 
to the favor of vraciicdl farmers, require at 
least an acknowledg-ment from all those who 
have heen particularly benefited by your libe- 
rality, and from no one more than myself 
This breed of swine has taken the place of a 
long-nosed, flat-sided, thriftless race, called by 
some the Ii-'l^Ii breed, by others the Russian, 
which would barely pay by their Aveight for 
ordinary keeping, and never for one half the 
expense of fattening, if indeed grain would 
make them fat. I have had three pigs butch- 
ered from the same litter, precisely seven and a 
half months old. Their weights when dressed, 
were tAvo hundred and thirty, two hundred and 
Ihirty-fiAO, and two hundred and thirty-eight 
and a half pounds. One sold in Boston for six 
and one fourth cents per pound ; the others 
were put up here for family use. The expense 
of fattening these pigs Avas less than Avith any 
other breed I OA^er raised, and the proportion of 
bone and offal to valuable parts Avas surpris- 
ingly small. I liaA^e fifteen more on my farm, 
part designed for the market in the spring <-md 
part to be kept over as store sAvine, and their 
appearance Avill furnish ocular satisfaction of 
the propriety of all that has been said in favor 
of this breed." 

The Mackay Hog. This breed Avas intro- 
duced into the United States by Capt. John 
Mackay, of Boston, and those offered by him 
haA-e repeatedly receiA^ed premiums from the 
Agricultural Society of Massachusetts. This 



SWINE BREEDER. 31 

variety has for a long while been most widely , 
scattered and generally esteemed^ in the nortliv' 
eastern portion of New England./ An extract 
of a letter addressed to the Hon. Henry L. 
Ellsworth by Elias Phinney, Esq., of Mas- 
sachusetts, is as follows : — " To your inquiry 
as to what breed of hogs I prefer, I A\dll state, 
a cross of the Berkshire with the Macjiay, 
which are my principal breeds. With the his- 
tory of the Berkshire pig you are no doubt 
acquainted. The Mackay pigs were imported 
into this country from England aboul fifteen 
years since, by Capt. Mackay, of Boston, from 
whom they derive their name, and till within a 
few years were decidedly the best breed in New 
England, and perhaps in America. But in 
consequence of breeding ' hi-inid-'nt^'' as it is 
termed, they had greatly degenerated, had be- 
come weak and feeble in constitution, small in 
size, ill shaped, and in many instances de- 
formed. When first imported, Capt. Mackay, 
on his farm at Boston, not unfrequently brought 
them up to 600 lbs., at the age of eighteen 
months. In all the essential points, they gi-eatly 
exceeded the Berkshire, particularly in liglit- 
ness of ofFal^ greater weight of the more valu- 
able parts, firmness and delicacy of limb, thin- 
ness of skin, roundness of body, &c., but 
withal a hog of feeble constitution. With a 
view of restoring some of the good qualities of 
this breed and uniting them with the healthy 
constitution of others, I tried various crosses 
without much success. One of those which 
did pretty well, was Avith the Moco, so called, 



32 THE AMERICAN 

which I obtained from the Genesee county, in 
the state of New York. But decidedly the 
most fortunate cross is with the Berkshire, 
which I obtained from my friend Mr. Bement, 
of Albany, about three years since. The pro- 
duce of tills cross is a breed which far exceeds 
those of any other, possessing all the good and 
useful qualities of the Mackay, united to the 
vigor, size, and health, without the coarseness 
of the Berkshire, The best pigs, however, 
that I have ever raised, were by putting a full 
blooded Berkshire boar to a soav, which was a 
cross of the Mackay with the Moco — the pro- 
duce being half Berkshire, a quarter Mackay, 
and a quarter Moco. 

The Russian Hog. For the following de- 
scription of this animal, we are indebted to a 
letter from James E. Letton, Esq., of Kentucky, 
published in the Franklin Farmer, vol. ii. p. 
404. " Their color is generally white, with long 
coarse hair, their head is long and coarsely 
featured, their ears are not so broad as the com- 
mon variety of the country, yet longer and 
narrower, and come regularly to a point, pro- 
jecting forward, and they do not appear to have 
so much command of them as other breeds. 
They have fine length and height, their bone 
is large and fine, they stand well upon their 
pastern joints, and are good trackers; quite indus- 
trious. They are thick through the shoulders, 
indifferently ribbed or suddenly inclined down, 
their plate or kidney bone rather narrow and 
ovaling than otherwise, hams pretty good, 
though not so good as the Berkshire or the 



SWINE BREEDER. 



33 



Irish Grazier, yet preferable to the variety. 
They do not graze so well as many others, they 
want more time to bring them into market than 
the above named breeds. Give them from 
eighteen to twenty months' age and they will 
make very large hogs. They are quite prolific, 
their usual number is from nine to twelve pigs 
a litter. I have found their cross with the 
named breeds to be a valuable acquisition, com- 
bining aptitude to fatten and rapid growth at 
the same time. 

The Leicestershire Hog, enters largely 
into some of the most valuable crosses in Eng- 
land and this country. The original stock 
were large, of great depth of body, flat-sided, 
and covered with light spots, and somewhat 
distinguished for a well turned head and ear. 
A cross of the Leicestershire boar with the 
Devonshire stock, produced a breed of great 
breadth of chest, plumpness of frame and depth 
of body, with fine bones and small limbs, and 
possessing aptitude to fatten easily. Another 
cross of the Leicestershire with the Chinese, 
has reduced the size of the former, but given 
rise to a breed of no small profit to the farmer, 
easily kept and fattened to the weight of from 
350 to 400 lbs. at eighteen months. 

The Irish Grazier Hog. Several recent 
crosses of this animal with the full blooded 
Berkshire, have produced an excellent breed, es- 
teemed in many portions of the western country. 
For more particular description, the reader isi 
referred to the contents and plate of the Frank* 
Un Farmer, as to this variety. 



34 THE AMERICAN' 

r The Grass Breed Hog. This breed is cele- 
brated for its great aptitude to fatten^ and an 
excellent variety known as the Litchfield Grass 
Breed, may be found scattered tlu'oughout Con- 
necticut. A cross of this variety with the Lei- 
cestershire has produced an uncommonly fine 
breed of a pure white color, long and square 
frame, and considering the size, remarkably- 
well limbed. This last mentioned variety is 
termed the Rnse breed, from being generally 
marked on the back with a light colored star or 
blaze, about four inches from the tail. 

Late importations of the Hampshire and 
Essex half black Hogs, and the recent in- 
troduction of the Neapolitan, will, if these va- 
rieties are properly managed and judiciously 
crossed, secure many valuable additions to our 
present stock. Other crosses of greater or less 
merit, unknown to the present writer, are doubt- 
less scattered throughout our country, though 
the foregoing list will probably be found to 
include the best known and most important 
varieties. A spirit of experiment and inquiry 
on this subject has been aroused extensively in 
the minds of agriculturists, which will doubt- 
less eventuate in the rapid improvement of the 
domestic hog in this country. As the stock we 
now have is amended or increased by crosses, 
or the introduction of new breeds, it is to be 
hoped that the pedigree of each distinguished 
variety, may be preserved with that minuteness 
which shall enable the future investigator of 
any species to assign correctly the parent stock 
from which it has originated. 



SWINE BREEDER. 35 



CHAPTER 11. 

Comparative influence of male and female in impressing 
their descendants — Modes of improving stock— Rules for 
selecting breeds — Crossing— Breeding in-and in — Class of 
points for hogs— Cooper's tw<» rules for breeders — Times 
of copulation — Apportioning the litters of ihesow — Treat- 
ment of young pigs— Tendency of sows to destroy their 
offspring — The operation of spaying described — Substi- 
tutes for spaying — Method of obtaining the weight of swine 
while living. 

Much discussion has of late been excited, 
and many able dissertations written, on the 
comparative influence of male and female pa- 
rents in impressing peculiar characteristics on 
their descendants. It was the opinion of Sir 
John Sebright — and his testimony is often 
quoted by those who advocate the same posi- 
tion — that '' there are no means by which the 
breed of animals can be so rapidly and effec- 
tually improved, as by its being the particular 
business of some breeders to provide male '////- 
in (lis for the purpose of letting to hire." Such 
was deemed the importance of this matter, that 
the Highland Society, of Scotland, proposed 
for discussion and awarded prizes on the ques- 
tion, " Whether the breed of live stock, con- 
nected with agriculture, be susceptible of the 
greatest improvement from qualities conspicuous 
in the male, or from those in the female ? '^ 
Those who have advocated the claims of the 
first sex mentioned, have relied on the greater 
number of distinguished high bred males to 
be found in almost every country, and the ex-^ 



36 THE AMERICAN 

traordinary impressions of the sire on his de- 
scendants in crosses with inferior native stocks. 
The certain transmission of the mltir of the 
thorough-bred stalHon thrcughont his progeny, 
often effecting in comparatively short periods 
important changes in this respect, in the breeds 
of a large district, and the marked impressions 
of the male as to fonn, in the ox, and still 
more particularly in sheep, have been repeat- 
edly noticed and advanced. Many interesting 
experiments on the tendency of the sex alluded 
to, have been collected and made known.* 

By the opponents of the doctrine, on the 
other hand, the existence of any independent 
sexual ability, in either male or female, to im- 
press their offspring, is most strenuously denied. 
They contend that the confessed importance of 
such an inherent propensity, provided it could 
be established, occasioned from the first wishes 
and conjectures, which gradually assumed the 
form of belief in U.^ existence ; and that a doc- 
trine thus feebly based, found, unfortunately, 
strong support in the ready reception which it 
met with, and was generally accredited. They 
contend further, that the natural consequence 
of attention to the breeds of stock would lead 
to the production of an improved and nirmrr- 
oifs race of males, which would be generally 
sought for in preference to females, from the 

* One of the most interesting, as connected with the sub- 
ject of these pages, is the result attending the intercourse of 
a pure Bedford Boar with a thorough bred sow, which our 
readers will find in the Essay of John Boswell, Esq., con- 
tained in the Transactions of the Highland Society, of Scot» 
land. 



g-VViNti JBREEDfiR. 31 

fact that the services of the former miglit be; 
commanded to a great extent, while those 
of the latter would be restricted to perhaps 
a single produce in a year, — that the intro- 
duction of males, thus selected for superior 
characteristics, and obtained by a long course 
of breeding from animals possessing important 
requisitions, to the co/ri97i)n and ittferinr slocks 
possessing no ddi^nnrnale character in regard 
to their descent, would doubtless be attended 
with astonishing results, and that the same 
Would be the case in regard to the progeny of 
a high bred female and inferior male. They 
also declare, that where the system of crossing 
is judiciously pursued and both parents are 
eqiiiillij 'ineli ()/(</, great uniformity in their de- 
scendants will appear, and a total absence exist 
of those strong impressions which excite sur- 
prise when but one parent claims superiority. 
In their OAvn language, we are called on all " to 
contrast this state of things with that which 
Would be apparent in the inferior stock, to im- 
prove which the well bred bull is put in requi- 
sition. There it is that the produce astonishes, 
for the sire impresses characteristics peculiarly 
his own. If it be inquired why it is so, the 
answer is easy, for the reason is obvious. - His 
excellences are the accimiulated acquisition of 
many ancestors ; they are positive and compar- 
atively fixed, while the cows, AVith which he 
has been used, possess little or no character, 
and have been bred without regard to any 
point but the production of animals to increase 
the stock upon the farm." It would well repay 



38 THE AMERICAN 

the expenditure of time to pursue this interest- 
ing investigation of sexual physiology, but we 
leave it for the consideration of more practical 
portions of our subject. 

The farmer who wishes to effect an improve- 
ment of his stock will do so, either by the im- 
mediate and entire removal of existing breeds, 
and the substitution of others in their room ; 
or by selecting the best individuals of the 
variety he has on hand, and improving them in 
this way for successive years ; or, lastly, by 
crosses with a superior male of some different 
breed. 

The first method proposed is liable to objec- 
tions, on account of the expenditures which it 
involves, and the probable diliicidty of obtain- 
ing a suitable number of females of the im- 
proved stock from which it is proposed to breed. 

The adoption of the second mode must be 
determined from the fact, whether the existing 
stock is adapted to the nature of the farm, to- 
gether Avith the circumstances of the cultivator 
and his mode of cultivation. 

The third mode is tiiat from which the judi- 
cious breeder of stock will derive the most ad- 
vantage, and which of course he will most 
naturally adopt. To aid him in so doing, we 
annex the following valuable hints on the im- 
provement of inferior breeds by crossing, from 
the excellent " Elements of Practical Agricul- 
ture," by Mr. Low. " This method has often 
led to disappointment from the nature of the 
crosses attempted, especially where the crosses 
have been violent, as between animals of very 



SWINE BREEDER. 39 

different character. The first cross will in 
general be gocd^ but in breeding from the pro- 
geny of the cross, expectation will often be 
disappointed. Nor do the good qualities of the 
first cross always remain in the progeny, but 
often there are found in it defects which cannot 
be traced to the parents. 

'• This, however, generally comes from injudi- 
cious crosses, and from unacquaintance with 
the principle on which the crosses of different 
animals should be conducted. When a cross 
is made, it should be with a male of a superior 
breed, and in this case the first cross will be 
almost always a good animal. To secure the 
full benefits of the cross, however, ive should 
not loo liasfil'i/ resort to the males af the infe- 
rior slnv!:^ because it might be found that while 
we had injured the original breed, we had not 
substituted a better in its stead. The general 
ride, iiierefore. should be, to cocer again the first 
cross irit/i. a superior male <f the same breed, 
and, so on, irntil the good character of that 
breed becomes j>er?nanent in the progeny. This 
is said to be breeding up to the parent stock. 

" There are, indeed, numerous cases in which 
a single mixture of better blood will do good^ 
as with those inferior breeds which have no 
fixed characters. These will be improved by 
even the slightest admixture with the blood of 
a better race ; and a farmer who is in a district 
where this class of animals prevails, may safely 
avail himself of a good male, in the same man- 
ner as a breeder of horses would do, although 
the stallion were of a different character from 



40 



THfi AMERICAN 



the native stock. The cases where crossing ig 
to be attempted with caution, are wlien a breed 
of estabhshed good characters, or of characters 
which fit it for the nature of the country, and 
the state of its agricuhure, already exists. 

" Now we might breed from animals nearly 
allied to one another in blood, as brothers and 
sisters, parents and their offspring, technically 
called ' breeding in-and-in,' or from animals 
of different families. By the latter method are 
produced animals more hardy and less subject 
to disease ; by the former we are frequently 
enabled to produce animals of more delicate 
form, and greater fattening properties, and above 
all to give a greater permanence to the charac- 
ters of the parents in the offspring. The first 
improvers, indeed, found the practice to be, to a 
certain extent, necessary, because they could 
not resort to the males of other families without 
employing inferior animals, and so impairing 
the properties of their own breed. 

" It is to be observed, that the breeding and 
continuing to breed from animals very near of 
blood, produces animals which have a greater 
tendency to arrive at maturity and to become 
fat. This seems to result from a tendency to 
premature age in the animal, which thus more 
quickly arrives at maturity, of bone and mus- 
cle, and so begins sooner to secrete fat. 

" The system, however, of breeding from ani- 
mals near of blood has its limits. Nature will 
not be forced too fast for our purposes. It is 
known that although the joining of animals 
closely allied diminishes the size of the bone 



SWINE BREEDER. 41 

'and gives a tendency to fatten in the progen}/-, 
it renders them also more delicate and subject 
to diseases. Although, then, this near breeding 
may be carried to a limited extent, between 
very fine animals, for the purpose of rendering 
their qualities permanent in the offspring, wo 
do a violence to nature when we carry it too 
far. The progeny, along with their maturity 
and aptitude to fatten, become feeble, and the 
males lose their masculine character, and be- 
icome incapable of propagating their race. 

When, therefore, the stock of any farmer has 
become too nearly allied, he ought not to fail to 
change his males, and procure the best of the 
same breed. This is essential to preserve the 
health of the stock for any time. Great losses 
have been sustained by breeders who have car- 
ried the system" of close breeding too far, with 
the design of pushing the improvement of their 
breeds to its limits." * 

A common error has existed in this country, 
in regard to swine, which has led to selection 
of breeds with reference to great size and 
weight, rather than to other good points, and 
especially the amount of valuable meat they can 
be made to carry. The flesh of smaller breeds 
is in general far more delicate and better fla- 
vored than that of large ones, while the propor- 
tional expenditure of each is the same. " It 
was lately remarked," says N. C. Bement, Esq., 
in his Report from the Committee on Swine, " by 

* Vide Low's Elements of Practical Agriculture, London 
•edition, 1838, pp. 514—517. 

4 



42 THE AMERICAN 

an eminent breeder of England, Mr. Gray, at 
^n agricultural dinner, that he could feed on an 
iftcre of land, a greater number of pounds in 
mutton, in carcasses from 18 to 20 lbs. per 
quarter than in carcasses from 28 to 30 lbs. per 
quarter, and that a quarter of mutton from a 
jsheep of 18 to 20 lbs. weight per quarter, is 
worth more in proportion than from a sheep of 
20 lbs. per quarter, and that consequently the 
advantage is on the side of the smaller car- 
casses. And he assigned this among other 
reasons, that in case of drought or scarcity, a 
email animal can collect as much food as a 
larger one, and having a smaller carcass, it 
derives more advantage from it; that whilst 
the larger is losing in condition, the smaller 
one, if not improving, is remaining stationary, 
and when the period arrives at which an abun- 
dance of food can be obtained, it almost imme- 
diately reassumes its position, and is fit to go 
to market sooner than the larger animal." 
'* These remarks are found to hold good in 
regard to swine as well as sheep. The same 
^quantum of food that will give 600 pounds to 
hogs of a very large breed, will fatten two 
hogs of 300 pounds each, and the meat of the 
latter though not so fat will be of the better 
quality." 

With many breeders, the sole consideration 
seems to be, the obtaining of a breed, possess- 
ing aptitude to mature and fatten speedily. 
That these are points of great importance, no 
one would deny. Yet it should be remembered 
that it is not alone the quantity but the kind 



SWINE BREEDER. 43 

vf fat which is desirable, and that those breeds 
are most desirable, in which this end can be 
accomplished with the greatest economy o£ 
food. 

Long and careful observation has furnished 
rules by Avhich the judicious breeder can detei*- 
mine with great accuracy the value of live 
stock, and which apply equally well to the 
growing and matured stage of various animals. 
It is found, for example, " that the nearer the 
section of the carcass of a fat ox, taken longir 
tudinally vertical, transversely vertical and ho?- 
izontally approaches to the figure of paralleled 
gram, the greater quantity of flesh will it carry 
in the same measurement." The result of nil- 
merous and long continued investigations on 
the points of cattle, have been brought togethei 
and form an almost perfect science by which tP 
try the merits of that animal, — comprising purity 
of breed ; particular form of the carcass ; proriV 
inence and clearness of the eye ; state of the 
skin ; hardness of flesh and its position on the 
carcass, together with the proportion of the 
extremities of the body, to the whole body an^ 
to one another. Similar rules as to important 
characteristics of sheep and swine are given, 
in reference to which latter animal experijj;ic« 
seems to have assigned the following 

CLASS OF POINTS FOR HOaS. 

1. Purity of breed, possessing aptitude to 
mature and fatten readily on little food. 

2. Head small and short, and sprightly $ 



44 THE AMERICAN 

chest deep and broad ; ribs arched ; neck 
short and thick, well set with bristles ; 
limbs small and fine boned ; bristles soft 
resembling hair ; ears, in general, erect 
and small ; legs short and quarters full ; 
skin soft and elastic. 
3. Carcass round, full and compact, pos- 
■ sessing lateral extension and proportional 

length. 
A. B. Allen, Esq., in a communication to 
the Franklin Farmer, writes as follows : — " I 
have ever remarked that a hog that fattens kind- 
ly, possesses a deep, wide chest, which causes 
great thickness through the shoulders, and that 
the reverse points constitutes the animal that 
It is utterl}^ impossible to put flesh upon ; in 
selecting fatteners, therefore, my eye is first set 
there. That point being satisfactorily settled, 
t turn to the hams, and as this is the most 
raluable part of the meat they cannot be too 
thick. We next examnne the barrel, and the 
thicker, deeper and longer that is, the more side 
pork, which after the hams and shoulders is 
the next in request; but in seeking length 
great care should be had to aA^oid hollow backs 
which in a young animal is unpardonable. We 
tave now the essentials ; then follows the ut- 
most possible fineness of head, ear and tail, 
thin hair and rind, and legs as small as can 
held up their great superstructure, the body. 
If the meat then be fine grained, with a pro- 
per intermixture of fat and lean, and well fla- 
vored, we have now the perfect hog — an animal 
that keeps quiet, feeds kindly, and comes to 



SWINE BREEDER. 45 

early or later maturity, as best suits the interest 
of tiie owner. 

In report of the committee on swine * we 
find the following observations : — " As regards 
the choice of hogs for breeding, it is recom- 
mended that the male should be small headed, 
deep and broad in the chest, the chine rather 
arched, the ribs and barrel well rounded, 
and the hams falling full down nearly to the 
neck ; he should also be more compact in his 
form, and rather smaller than the female, for if 
she be coarse, her progeny will be improved in 
form by the cross, and the more roomy she is 
the better chance will she afford of producing a 
large litter. Respecting her make, no other 
observation need be made, than to choose her 
of a deep and capacious body with a good 
appearance, and belonging to as good a race as 
can be found." 

The sow, according to the Complete Farmer, 
p. 155, " should be selected with great care, 
broad and straiglit back, wide hip, a great many 
teats, short leg and fine bone." 

The two following rules of Cooper, are Vvto?- 
thy the attention of all breeders : — 

" I. Choose those animals or vegetables to 
propagate from that possess the qualities you 
wish to propagate, in the greatest profusion. 
Volumes may be written to illustrate and con- 
firm this advice, but nothing can add to it sub- 
stantially. 

^' II. Never quit one good breed till you can 

* Cultivator, Vol. 6, No. l.-p. 31. 



46 THE AMERICAN 

pick out from a better. By following this plain 
method for a few generations, always seeking 
fcr those parents who have the points you 
want, in the greatest perfection, will yon cer- 
tainly improve your stock, whether of racers^ 
cart horses, cows, com, or strawberries." 

Another consideration of no small importance 
is the proper time of admitting the boar to the 
sow, with reference to his age, and the most 
economical distribution of his services, as well 
iLS the apportioning of the litter of the female 
to suitable periods of the year. And in ad- 
Tance of the subject, it may be proper here to 
Inention a fact which in practice is too often 
disregarded — that a single intercourse is gen- 
erally suffuiant for succcssftd impregnatiojK 
Ignorance of, or inattention to, this fact, joined 
to the desire of too rapid an increase of stocks, 
has often led the disappointed farmer to distrust 
the qualities of the animal employed, and ren- 
dered him disheartened as to future efforts. 
The procreative power, like every other con- 
ferred by nature, may be gradually weakened, 
and finally destroyed by unrestrained indul- 
gence. On this point, there is little fear of 
exercising too much caution. Intercourse at 
too early an age or too often repeated, has im- 
paired and finally exhausted the power of many 
a fine boar, and in the place of a sound, healthy 
breed, left upon the hands of the farmer a 
deteriorated and effeminate progeny. It should 
therefore be continually kept in mind, that 
nothing is inore dangerous to the sucv(Si of 
the breeder^ and the lirodnction of a healthy 



SWINE BREEDER. 



47 



issue, than the permissimi of unrestrauied m- 
dnlgcnce on the 'part of the male animals he 
has selected. 

In connection with this point, will naturally 
be considered the apportioning of the litters of 
the sow to the most suitable periods of the year, 
both in regard to the comfort and the conve- 
nience of the farmer ; and also the proper mode of 
treating the young pigs during the first weeks of 
their existence. Ample information on these 
subjects will we trust be found in the contents 
of the following pages which we have collected 
from various sources of allowed authority. An 
able writer in Reese's Encyclopasdia, remarks : — 
" It has likewise been suggested that the best 
stock may be expected from the boar at the full 
growth, but not more than from three to five 
years old, and that no sows should be kept open 
for breeding, except such as have large, capa- 
cious bellies. Being well fed from the teat, the 
sow will procreate at seven months ; and. if she 
he of the hind in wliich the stroiig tendency to 
fat increases the risk of bringing forth., proba- 
bly the snffering her to breed as early and as 
qnickly as possible, way coniribnte to amend 
the difect. It is also hinted, that if a sow of 
this description would admit the boar the third 
or within a few days of pigging, imposing on her 
the severe task of constant breeding and su^k 
ling, this would doubtless keep her sufficiently 
lean and roomy for the production of a litter. 
It is probable, however, that the quality and 
size of the pigs would sufi"er. But some sup- 
pose it better to defer the sow's taking the boar 



48 THE AMERICAN 

until ten. or iwe-vc man lies ohiycis she be30iTiCS 
more strong and affords better litters of pigs ; 
and that the boar should always be a year off/, 
or more, before he be put to sows, as by this 
delay he attains more growth and is more 
vigorous. It may be remarked with respect to 
being with young, that in the sow it is about 
four months, and the usual produce is from 
eight to ten or twelve pigs in the large, but more 
in the small breeds, which in general bring the 
greatest number and the most early." Says 
Loudon'^ : — '•' The best times for copulation are 
November and May, because then the progeny 
are brought forth in mild weather, when green 
food is to be had. They should not be allowed 
to farrow in winter, for young pigs are exceed- 
ingly tender and can with difficulty be pre- 
served in very cold weather, nor vd a time when 
food is scarce, as is generally the case upon our 
farms in summer, if the stock of them is large. 
When the object is suckled pigs, for the sham- 
bles, copulation should be so continued as to 
produce parturition at all seasons. Twenty 
swine are estimated to bring at an average 
seven pigs and a half for their first litter ; but 
the number varies much, and many young pigs 
are lost soon after their birth by the unkindness 
of their dam, and by casualties to which they 
are more exposed than most other animals. A 
breeding sow ought to have a large, capacious 
belly, and not to ba ton much inclined to ohf^sity. 
To check this tendency, allow them to breed 

* Vide Loudon's Encyclopedia of Agriculture. 



SWINE BREEDER. 49 

ii\re times in two years. The age of the hoar 
should not be less than a year, as he will then 
be at his full growth ; nor tliat of tlie female 
less than ten months." A. B. Allen, Esq., in a 
communication to the Franklin Farmer,'^' re- 
marks : — " A boar should never be permitted 
to be used until seven months old at least, 
and it would be much better that he were 
allowed to run till nine months. But if com- 
mencing at seven months, he should cover 
sparingly; say not more than fifteen or twenty 
sows till a year old, and these as distant apart 
as possible ; one or two only in a single week. 
From this time until he has obtained pretty full 
vigor, which I should place at about eighteen 
months, he may be bred from a little more freely. 
His spring seasons might then vary from twen- 
ty-five to thirty sows, and his fall nearly double 
this number. In the mean while he should be 
kept with care. A strong door may open from 
his pen into another to which the sow is in- 
troduced; he is then let in and allowed one 
coitus only, immediately after which he must 
be turned back and the sow taken away. It 
has generally been noted that one covering pro- 
duces a more numerous and stronger off'spring 
than two or three, and that ad libitum service 
is alike pernicious to all parties. 

" The best food for the boar during the season 
is boiled or soaked corn, with plenty of pure 
fresh v/ater, and, for variety, some swill from the 
house with meat in it, and a raw or boiled veg- 

* Vol. 3, No. 5, p. 36. 



50 THE AMERICAN 

etable root or two ; and as an antidote to dis- 
ease and to give tone to the appetite, and assist 
digestion, a table spoonful or so of sulphur is 
occasionally put in his food. Salt is also placed 
where he can get at it when he pleases, and 
charcoal or small chunks of rotten wood to- 
gether with a handful of crushed bones is thrown 
to him, if convenient. He must be kept alone 
in his sty under close cover, with a small plank 
floor, and plenty of dry litter, the sleeping apart- 
ments connected with a good yard to exercise 
and root and wallow in, and a strong post placed 
upright near the centre for him to rub against. 
During the interval between the spring and fall 
seasons, it would be greatly conducive to the 
health, vigor and longevity of the boar, if he 
could have run in a cool grass pasture, with 
clear sweet water passing through it, and take 
lighter food than when in service, but yet suffi- 
ciently nutritious to keep him in fair store. A 
good animal thus treated, may last ten to twelve 
years, and get excellent stock from first to last. 
But care must be taken that he be not over 
worked ; this is deemed very essential. It will 
be admitted, however, that individual males will 
serve a greater number than that limited above ; 
but my principle is, not to work them up to 
their full cftpacity ; if error must be committed, 
it is better that it be on the safe side. 

^' Unless a sow was very coarse and the object 
be to fine her, I would not allow her to breed 
till eighteen months old, and if something ex- 
tra was desired, she ought not to come in under 
tAvo years ; there is then no check of growth, 



SWINE BREEDER. 51 

and her first litter is usually as good as any 
subsequent one. She ought to be taken up 
and occupy a place alone, either in a pasture or 
a pen, similar to that described for the boar, one 
month previous to farrowing, her condition kept 
good, and steadily watched when expected to 
bring forth. 

The same author, in a letter addressed to 
the Hon. H. L. Ellsworth, observes : — " I do 
not know how many sows a boar might ef- 
fectually serve in a season. It will depend 
something on the breed — a Berkshire being 
more effective than a China — something on the 
animal, but more on his food and care during 
service. For instance, a single coitus of one 
of my sows last fall has this spring brought a 
noble litter of thirteen pigs, iDhen the saine sow 
served by the sanip hour a year ago ad libifiun^ 
only brought nine last summer; so that, judingg 
from this, enough was wasted on her alone a 
year since, to produce a half dozen conceptions. 
I think tlu'ce services abundant in any case, 
and I should not wish my boars In their pri/jie, 
to serve more than five sows in a single Aveek, 
or fifteen in one month, or forty-five in four 
months ; still, less or more, according to judg- 
ment should be done. As a general rule, how- 
ever, bulls and boars of high repute are sadly 
overworked, and thus the great disappointment 
in their stock. The best breeders for the turf 
in England, limit their stallions to twenty or at 
most thirty mares ; hence one great certainty of 
the vigor of their stock, and the probability that 
the son will add to the reputation of the sire." 



52 THE AMERICAN 

A recent French Avriter of distinction,^ on the 
subject of generation, remarks, that among 
females who receive the males otiJy once, those 
who receive him j^/"6/ produce generally more 
males than females. In proof of which, the 
author (among other instances of similar im- 
port) mentions the following : — " A boar was 
admitted on the same day to two sows of two 
years old, of the same strength and same litter. 
The^.'w^ produced nine males and a female^ 
the second^ vine females and one male. A 
yonn,^ boar of five months was afterwards ad- 
mitted to two sows of the same litter as the 
boar. The first produced five males and two 
females, and the other (four hours later,) six 
females and two males." 

In the Elements of Practical Agriculture will 
be found the following information on the sub- 
ject: — -'The sow goes with young 112 days. 
She is fit to receive the male in the first year of 
her age, and the latter is able to propagate his 
species at the same early period, but he should 
be twelve months old before he is admitted to 
the female. The female produces from five to 
ten or more at a birth, and she can easily be 
made to produce and rear two litters a year, 
and she may even rear five in two years. She 
is ready to receive the male soon after the birth 
of her young, but the time should be chosen 
which allows her to produce her litter at the 
most convenient season. Thus, if she is to be 
made to litter twice in one year, the first should 

* Giron sur la reprodacticn des aniinanx domestiques,— 
Auuales des Sciences JN'aiiueiles, Mai, 1830. 



SWINE BREEDER. 53f 

if* possible be produced about the beginning of 
I^ebmary, and the second about the beginning 
of August, so that the last litter may gain full 
strength before the arrival of cold weather. 

" The time when she is about to produce her 
litter, will be known by her carrying straw in 
her mouth to m,ake her bed. Before this, how- 
ever, she should liave been separated from her 
fellows and carefully littered. The straw should 
be short and not in too great quantity, lest the 
pigs nestling beneath it, unperceived by the 
dam, be crushed by her when she lies down. 

" During the period of nursing, the dam and 
the young, should be lodged dry and warm. 
They should be fed three times in the day with 
whey, milk, and a little water slightly warm 
mixed witii bran, meal or any farinaceous sub- 
stance, and when the pigs are in the course of 
feeding from the troughs, the m.other may be 
allowed to go at large for an hoiir or two. In 
six weeks, if they are well fed, the pigs may be 
weaned ; but should they not have been well 
fed, eight weeks will be required. When 
weaned, they are to be fed three tim.es a day 
with wheat bran, barley dust, or on farinaceous 
food mixed with \vater wanriod to the tempera- 
ture of the mother's milk, and with v/hey or 
other refuse of the dairy or kitchen. In a few 
weeks they will begin to eat potatoes, turnips, 
and all other sorts of food." 

In an ancient and very curious work, origi- 
nally written in French, entitled, " Maison 
Rustique," and by the English translator ren- 
dered, " The Countrie Farm," we find the fol- 



54 THE AMERICAN 

lowing quaint observations : — ^^ Keep not aboue 
ten boares for a hundred sows and so forth pro- 
portionably ; the rest, as well male as females, 
let them be wained and gelded after a yeere old 
or sixe months at least ; howbeit, the infallible 
time and opportunitie is when they begin to 
grow hot and go a brimming. Let not your 
gylt go to bore till she be past a yeere old, and 
let the boare be between three and fower, for 
after he be past five he must be gelded to be 
fatted. You must also beware that the boare 
keep not companie with the sowes that are with 
pig, for he would but tear them and leave them 
to cast their pigges." 

The correspondence of James E. Letton, 
Esq., describing the practice he has adopted in 
reference to these subjects, contain so much 
of valuable information, that notwithstand- 
ing its length we are induced to place the 
greater portion of it before our readers. Com- 
mencing with the rearing, breeding, and treat- 
ment of thorough bred male hogs, he remarks : 
" To insure good size, firm and fulness in their 
hams, straightness in their stifle joints, and to 
give a good and regular growth, I seldom or ever 
suffer my boar to serve a sow until he has 
arrived to the age of ten or twelve months, and 
older if possible. I give them a lot sufficiently 
large for exercise, and give food enough to 
keep them in a high state of flesh while grow- 
ing ; by so doing, I have no fear, from past ex- 
perience of injuring their libidinous propensi- 
ties, as so much objected to by many aged men, 
who pretend to be hog growers in Kentucky. 



SWINE BREEDER. 55 

By this mode I am satisfied you will have 
stronger, more vigorous, active and regular 
sized pigs to every litter ; and, furthermore, 
you will find your soavs on littering are not so 
apt to produce pigs dead, fitty and feeble, as 
when got by young or poor boars. 

" Sows are susceptible of conceiving when 
four or five months old, but far better at a 
later period. I would recommend not to breed 
then, until about eight months old, that their 
first littering will be when they are about twelve 
months of age. Sows impregnated from the 
20th to the last of December, will bring pigs 
from the 10th to the 20th of April, as the period 
of gestation is about a hundred and twelve 
days. I have a number on record of the above 
age, and find their produce to be from eight to 
thirteen pigs a litter. I know the usual wants 
of the farmers by hearing them frequently ob- 
serve by their fire-side — ' let me have my stock 
of pigs to come the first of March ;' at the same 
times, unconscious of the danger of severe storm 
and cold blasts in March, and the little economy 
they have in providing shelters for their sows — 
frequently causes them to lose their entire stock 
of pigs, which is of no small value to a farmer 
that has his plan laid out to rear a great number 
of hogs, consequently must buy a stock or sell 
his grain at reduced prices. I have experi- 
enced the loss more than once to a considerable 
amount, consequently I have postponed breed- 
ing as before mentioned. Thus I have the 
security of better weather and the benefit of 
vegetation, which has a good tendency to cor- 



S6 THE AMERICAN 

re3t an3Mndisposition in sows, which frequently 
occurs in animals as well as in human beings. 
They are subject to inflammatory colds, and 
fever succeeding, dries up their milk, the pigs 
perish and death intervenes. To insur'e the 
farmer a quick and rapid growth in his lot of 
pigs, let them come about the last of April, (say 
20th,) which is far preferable to March pigs, 
which have sustained much injury while very 
young. Stunted by frost and hunger, they 
cannot well be resuscitated by the best of atten- 
tion afterwards. 

^' In an ordinary way, sows suckle their young 
in the spring from six to eight weeks, but in 
the fall the sows frequently wean their young 
in about six weeks. I w^ould say to make youl* 
pigs thrive and grow on without much injury 
in their looks from weaning time, the bettor 
way is to prepare a covered pen for your pigs 
and have a hole sufficiently large so they can 
go in and out at pleasure, and always keep 
shelled corn by them. Be particular to com- 
mence thus feeding when they are about three 
weeks old, and it will aid the sow in rearing 
them, consequently they will wean them kindly 
and grow on without any ill effects which are 
common to weaning. These pigs will have 
age and sufficient growth by good clover and 
blue grass grazing — will winter kindly, which 
will insure the farmer a regular growth in his 
lot of hogs by the common mode of corn feed- 
ing, or following corn fed cattle ; the excrements 
they collect from them are equal to cooked or 
steamed malt. After weaning their litter of 



SWINE BREEDER. 57 

pigs, I would advise all the old sows to be 
spayed while reduced in flesh hy suckling, as 
this period is most favorable. If a careful hand 
performs the operation in the left side, I sel- 
dom or ever lose any of that age and healthy 
rearing. They will fatten kindly and make 
about as much weight at selling time as then- 
brothers of the same litter. You now perceive 
I do not winter any hogs more than one win- 
ter. I can say from experience, that sows with 
pig, winter better than barrows. They should 
be kept in a large woodland pasture, if practica- 
ble, by themselves, to prevent an injury from 
other hogs ; be careful to have a house or shel- 
ter to protect them in inclement weather. Con- 
tinue to select, every spring, the best female 
pigs out of your litters, such as you think 
will procure as many pigs as you may want to 
breed from, and by so doing you may rear your 
hogs on your farm at a moderate calculation of 
tAventy per cent, over and above the prevailing 
practice of the day. In the common way the 
farmer has his males and females running 
together at large, and may expect to have 
litters of pigs every month in the year ; but 
the lot of hogs are uneven, and consequently 
the stronger will be certain to abuse the weak, 
(a hog is a hog by name and nature,) and haip- 
ing masterly strength, in all cases the weaker 
are driven from their food and comfortable shel- 
ters in the fort ; and in many cases we have a 
proof of the unproductive rural system of our 
farmers in having all sizes and ages. In otrr 
usual winters we see the small class of hogs, 
5 



^8 THE AMERICAN 

when suffering from cold, deep snows, and wet 
weatlier, fall victims of death by smothering and 
suppression ; the larger class being placed with 
the small ones. On all occasions hogs ought 
to be separated and classed according to size, 
and kept in the woodland where they may pro- 
ride shelter in the forest foliage. Every farm- 
er should provide himself with hog houses 
in his woodland pastures where they can get 
the foliage of the forest to make their beds. 
The place for these houses should be select- 
ed on the south or northeast side of a hill, so 
as to receive the warmth of the sun in the 
winter, and on a moderate slope so as to drain 
off the water, and that tlie sun may the better 
dry and warm the earth. As to form I am not 
particular, but always recommend the shelter 
to be close and diy ; to aid in keeping diy, 
tauch care should be obsen^ed in trenching 
aground the house to turn the water. 

" Rearing a herd of Blooded Female Swine ; 
S^irin^ and Snmmer Treatment ; Breeding 
and Winter Treatment. They should be left 
in a lot sufficiently large for exercise, contain- 
ing plenty of water (for wallowing) and shade. 
If the grazing is not sufficient, I would advise 
a little corn, dish water, slops and soap suds, 
mixed together, to be given them, so as to keep 
the animals in a good healthy condition, but 
by no means, as when fattening, to hurry them 
in their growth. 

" My practice for winter treatment is this ; after 
my sows are all pregnant, if possible, I ahvays 
faave, a large field of clover or meadow for their 



SWiNE BREEDER. 59 

graziilg, or put them on rye or wheat fields and 
let them graze about twenty-four hours, twice a 
weeli, when the snow is off the ground ; always 
providing comfortable diy sheds or houses for 
them, having a regular time for feeding, morn- 
ing and evening. If any animal stands in 
danger from the want of regular feeding Avhile 
pregnant, it is the sow, and there is great dan- 
ger of her being fed too much at a time by 
careless or inexperienced servants, which is apt 
to produce abortions. Severe weather operates 
injuriously on sows, as they have frequently to 
make their beds in the snow, and sometimes in 
mud and water, where shelters are not pro- 
vided for them — this is the cause why we so 
often hear our farmers say all their sows have 
slunk their pigs, and will have no pigs in the 
spring ; and other causes still exist which I 
leave the careful to observe. When ni}^ sows 
are half gone with pig, (some time in February,) 
without fail I separate my sows and put them 
in lots, (four or five in number,) to prevent them 
from laying one upon another during cold snowy 
spells in February and March, wiiich causes 
them, by oppression, to miscarry. This is the 
time that the greatest care should be taken Avith 
sows, as the period of littering is close at hand, 
for if they should miscarry, you have again to 
breed them, when their pigs will come late and 
much time be lost. 

" Breeding of Blooded Sows. — When they 
have attained to the age of eight months or 
thereabout, my practice is to breed them be- 



60 THE AMERICAN 

tween the 1st and 15th of December, so as to 
make their Uttering come in the latter end of 
March, and by having sheUers or houses for 
them, I can venture on breeding sooner than 
I would otherwise advise. I can rear this litter 
and have my sows stinted to boar, and bring 
the second litter between the first and mid- 
dle of September, so as to have time to rear 
them, and so they will stand the ensuing winter. 
Then my sows can have about a month's rest 
until the 1st of December, which I very much 
approve of before breeding again ; by so doing 
I have three litters in the period of twelve 
months. You now see the months I prefer for 
my blooded sows to litter in — the latter end of 
March and the 1st of April. The second litter 
from the 1st to 15th of September, and the 
third litter the latter end of March and 1st of 
April, which makes the period I have noticed. 
In stinting my sows to the boar, according to 
the time mentioned, I have been very particu- 
lar to aid my memory, by committing to writing 
the time when they were stinted, and the mode 
of stinting. I was in the habit of the old cus; 
tom in my commencement of doing business in 
this way. I soon saw there was an error some 
where, and my intentions were defeated some 
how — and I reserved my lot of common sows 
to be bred in December, so as to bring pigs 
the first of April, when the weather was warm ; 
while the old custom would be to let the boar 
run with some twenty or thirty sows, with the 
expectation of having a lot of pigs of one age, 
and, in general, one third of the sows, in all 



SWINE BREEDER. 61 

probability, would come in season at one time. 
Admit the boar to be in good health and a 
full flow of animal spirits and strength, he 
will soon by severe service be impotent, and 
consequently only the first few sows will be 
impregnated. The sows will, in all proba- 
bility, continue to come in season, and the boar 
be reduced every day, and yet his lasciv- 
iousness keeps him incapable of being fruit- 
ful. Hence, I found by experience my sows 
were unproductive, some having two or three 
pigs, and they came in much later than I 
expected, consequently I would recommend 
one boar to every ten sows, where you want 
all your pigs of one age and of good size. Of 
all the animal creation that I have any acquaint- 
ance with, the boar and ram will lose their 
juices faster from gendering. I will aver that, 
a, boar may be in, good heaffh, and liigli cond:^ 
tlon of animal spirits, and let him run ivith a 
lot of soiDs.^ ticenfy or thirty in nnmber^ and in. 
four loeeks tim^e^ he irill lose one hnndred 
pounds weighty ah hough yon feed him< loil.li 
iohaf corn he may irant to eat. 

" My young maiden sows, I hardly ever per- 
mit to be served but one time ; my reason for 
this is that an old boar is too heavy and too 
strong for them; he mashes them down when 
they are willing, if not, he hunches them down 
with his nose, and bruises them so much, that 
it impedes their growth forever afterwards. It 
is astonishing to think how they frequently 
support them. I disapprove, under any circum- 
stances, of letting the male to sows more than 



62 THE AMERICAN 

once, when he is in good order. I recommend 
an aged male to maiden sows in all cases, to 
secure large, sprightly, well-formed and more 
prolific pigs. I have kept a true account 
heretofore of this practice. I let a lot of seven 
sows run with the boar until they had done 
with him, and kept their several dates. I also 
had a lot of young and old sows. I let the 
boar out of his pound and let him serve them 
once each, and kept their several dates. 
There was but one, out of six, that did not 
stand, and out of the lot of seven, there were 
two which did not stand. The lot of six pro- 
duced from six to eleven pigs each, and the 
lot of seven did not produce as many pigs by 
four as tlie former. I kept both lots in the same 
manner with care, and they answered their 
several dates in littering, the period of gestation 
being about sixteen weeks. If you stint your 
sow to the boar, and keep her .in a lot to 
prevent covering from other males, and she 
stands, she will be very sure to bring forth 
from a hundred and eleven, to a hundred and 
thirteen days; but if permitted to run with the 
boar, when she is in season, until she is done, I 
have recorded a number of instances and dates 
where the litters have varied from the set time of 
a hundred and eleven, to a hundred and sixteen 
days. This convinces me of the injury the 
boar sustains, while the sow receives no benefit. 
From his masterly strength she is constrained 
to do wliat nature does not desire, therefore tlie 
great discrepancy in the supposed periods of ges- 
tation. 



SWINE BREEDER. 6^ 

" PARTICULAR Feeding. — I always give uiy 
Sows dish water slops, when practicable, through 
the winter, in a trough sufficiently long that 
they may all feed out of it without scuffling, 
with a pole confined on each end of the trough, 
to keep their feet out of the food, and pre- 
vent them from fighting and slipping over the 
sides of the trough. The ammonia in the 
dish water will suit impregnated sows much 
better than strong salt, I had twelve head last 
winter, in the severest weather and deep snows, 
and never gave but three ears of corn to each, 
morning and evening, and when the snow Avas 
off, my feed was from one to two ears, to each 
head, morning and evening. 

" Treatment. — When within two or three 
days of their littering, I always separate nij 
sows and put them in sheds or houses by them- 
selves. I prepare leaves for their beds, if prae^ 
ticable, as I prefer them to straw or hay ; they 
are light and warm, and there is no danger of 
the young pigs getting entangled, as they do 
sometimes in straw; and, being very weak, dy- 
ing before they get to the teat. Whilst con- 
fined before littering, give them two ears of 
corn, morning and evening, and a plenty of 
water until they have farrowed. After they 
have littered, give nothing but water for twenty- 
four hours, then give two or three ears of corn 
night and morning, for some four or five days; 
never give rich slops for some four or five days 
before and after littering, for they are not in 
good health, but feverish, and rich food will 
increase the fever, or swell the teats, so that the 



64 THE AMERICAN 

pigs cannot draw them, more especially in 
warm weather. I have known instances where 
the milk entirely dried up from fever, and the 
pigs died for the want of it. Our practice fre- 
quently is contrary to reason, in yielding to 
supposed calls of nature, therefore many feed 
their sows on the richest food immediately after 
littering. Thus producing that very injurious 
disease among the pigs — scours. 

^' Treatment of the pigs after they are 
SOME five or ten DAYS OLD. — The sows 
should be kept separate from each other at least 
ten days after littering, to secure the pigs' affec- 
tions to their own mother, and to prevent them, 
in large herds, from scouring, which is so 
common when the sows are permitted to run 
and litter together. The strong pigs will suckle 
all the sows, for their superior strength will 
force the weaker and younger from the teats, 
who consequently soon become puny and weak, 
which result, such keeping as I have described, 
has a good bearing to prevent. I can say from 
experience that every pig will have its own teat, 
and regularly, as the sow calls or permits 
it to suckle, will return to its OAvn unless 
forced away by a stronger hog. My prac- 
tice is, after they have arrived at the age before 
mentioned, to put them in a lot of grass suffi- 
cient for their grazing and exercise, with a 
plenty of shade and water, if practicable, and 
to always keep other hogs, of any size, away 
from them, for the purpose of keeping the 
sows from fighting, and running over and crip- 
pling the young pigs, which is pretty generally 



SWINE BREEDER. 65 

the case if they are permitted to feed together. 
I feed my sows while suckhng with as much 
corn as they will eat up clean, and always, if 
possible, put the corn on smooth and dry ground 
for them." 

Mr. Phinney, in remarking on this latter 
subject* — tlie treatment of young pigs — says : — 
" Pigs, when first taken from the sow, should be 
treated with great care to prevent scouring and 
from becoming stinted ; Avhen either of these 
happen, it will require many days and some- 
times weeks to put them again in a healthy, 
groAving condition. When first deprived of the 
maternal food, a little new or skim milk, boiled 
and slightly salted, and given to them often 
and in small quantities, will prevent scouring 
nd greatly increase their growth." 

On this point, Mr. Allen also says :t — " As 
soon as dropped, see that the pigs are cleaned 
and take the teat, and the dam rid of the pla- 
centa, and that carried off and buried. The 
watching should continue a little longer till 
the pigs get strong and lively, as sows of this 
breed (Berkshire) are so heavy as to endanger 
their being trod upon and killed. Although 
objections are made to giving food immediately 
after farrowing, I can see no reason in them; 
the poor animals are faint and dry, and require 
nourishment; feed them with swill in a moderate 
quantity, a little more than blood warm, as soon 
as they will get up and eat it. This is gradu- 

* Vide New England Farmer, vol. xviii. No. 2. p. 71. 
t Vide Franklin Farmer, vol. iii. No. 5, p. 36. 



66 THE AMERICAN 

ally thickened the next day, and by the time 
the pigs are a week old, the dam is allowed to 
eat all it will without cloying. A mixture of 
oat and pea or Indian meal, one part of either of 
the latter to three parts of the former, is highly 
recommended for nursing, together with an 
equal quantity of steamed v^egetables. As soon 
as the pigs will eat, a small open door should 
be placed in the pen, under which they can 
run and be separate from the sows, a trough 
set in, and milk with a light mixture of meal 
poured out for them. This greatly relieves the 
sow and adds much to the growth of the pigs ; 
they wean then without scouring, losing condi- 
tion in the least, or being checked in their 
growth. It is generally thought that pigs do 
as well to be weaned at six weeks old as later, 
as the little milk each then gets, is obtained by 
more or less qnarraling, and adds a distaste to 
the other food ; besides it is a great considera- 
tion to get them from the sow as soon as possi- 
ble. Eight or ten great pigs, tugging at her 
breast for two or three months, are hard to be 
borne, and frequently very pernicious to her 
teats. In weaning, all but one should be taken 
off; put the dam on a short allowance, and in 
two days take the rem.ainiug pig away, allow- 
ing it at first to drain the breast twice a day, 
arid then once in two or three days during 
a week ; then turn the sow out to grass and 
leave off entirely, and commence gradually put- 
ting her into condition again. The Bi^rksliires 
arc great inllkcrs, and muri be n;cl! aftnuJed 
to at weaning time, or their breasts will fill, be- 



SWINE BREEDER. 67 

come caked and swollen and finally ul^-erate, 
and be the cause sometimes of the death of 
the sow. 

" Experience," says Bird Smith, Esq.,* " has 
taught me that no matter how many pigs a sow 
has over six, they should be reduced to that 
number, always retaining the large and healthy 
ones, for I can and will demonstrate, that six 
pigs will make more pork at twelve or eighteen 
months old than eight would of the same litter, 
and eight will make more than ten. Give to 
the six the food which you would give to the 
eight or ten, and you will find, in the result, the 
truth of my statement proven. It is essential 
that pigs be Lept faf n-h'iie sfirkiiig, and to have 
them so, six is a better number than eight or 
ten. At weaning time,' or when sixty days old, 
the season when sows decline to milk, particular 
attention should be paid to the pigs, having 
them regularly fed with corn or swill, for at 
this juncture they are unaccustomed to roof for 
themselvps, and will rapidly lose their health, 
and their growth will be retarded if left to 
shift for themselves." 

A writer in the American Farmer directs that 
all food for young pigs should be cooked or 
boiled, and that corn meal should be mixed 
with chopped rye, in order to correct the effects 
of its fermenting quality. Each mess provided 
should also be slightly seasoned with salt. It 
is the opinion of N. C. Bement, Esq., in his 
able Report from the committee on swine,t that 

* Farmer's Eegister, vol. vi. p. 382. 
f Vide Cultivator, vol. vi. No, \, p. 31, 



68 THE AMERICAN 

eight or ten days after farroAving the sow may 
be allowed to leave her sty for a short time 
every day, and when the pigs acquire a little 
strength they may accompany her. A grass 
field is the best place, for the herbage improves 
the sow's milk; the pigs grow faster and are 
more healthy, and the sty is rendered sweet- 
er by their absence. If the brood be numer- 
ous, they should be lessened, in order to re- 
lieve the sow, to eight or at most nine ; though 
from ten to thirteen have been brought up in 
perfect order, without any apparent injury to 
the mother. In such cases, hoAvever, she should 
be a strong and healthy animal, and be sup- 
plied with an abundance of the most nutritious 
food. During the whole period of her nursing, 
the offals of the kitchen or dairy wash, with 
ship stuffs, ground oats, barley, buckwheat, or 
corn, mixed and given lukewarm, morning and 
evening; and in the middle of the day, boiled 
potatoes, beets or carrots, with a little Indian 
meal, or peas and barley ground and mixed, or 
something equally nutritious. Young pigs even 
while sucklers, should not be left wholly to the 
nourishment offered by the sow, but should be 
furnished two or three times a day with skim 
or butter milk, whey, or pot liquor, made luke 
warm, and having a little meal, shorts and 
boiled roots mixed up with it ; or if this be 
thought too troublesome, skim milk, with a 
small quantity of meal, may be left constantly 
for them, in a part of the sty where the sow 
cannot have access. In six or seven weeks, 
they will generally weigh from thirty to thirty- 



SWINt: BREEDER. 69 

five pounds, and be strong enough to wean. 
After weaning, they should not only be kept 
dry and clean, but regularly fed." 

For the tendency of sows to flestmy their 
own offspring, various reasons have been as- 
signed, and different remedies proposed. That 
this is a disposition which exists more in some 
breeds than others, (as for instance in the 
China,) is Avell known, and to its injurious ten- 
dency many farmers can bear witness. A cor- 
respondent of the Yankee Parmer* assigns 
costiveness, and the irritability and frenzy 
which it produces, as the cause of this unnatu- 
ral conduct, " to prevent which give the sow 
for some weeks before Aveaning, a heaping table 
spoonfull of flower of brimstone, each week, in 
her food — a few raw potatoes will aid the brim- 
stone. Sows that run at large are not apt to 
destroy their pigs ; then they choose their food, 
as grass, (fee." 

The Hon. O. Fiske remarks t: — "In most 
cases where I have inquired into the fact, 
whether in old or young breeders, I have ascer^ 
tained that they have been disturbed in some 
of their essential habits, either having been 
removed from their companions, their range 
restricted, or from being removed from one pen 
to another. All these changes, however, may 
be effected with safety, by allowing them suffi- 
cient time to become accustomed to them; four 
or five weeks at least. I have known soavs do 
well with a second litter, after having destroyed 

* Vide Yankee Farmer, vol. i. p. 09. 

f Vide New England Farmer, vol. v. p. 214. 



to The AMERICAN 

h first, under one of the above excitements. 
Hence it would be unwise to condemn to death 
one which bids fair otherwise to be a vahiable 
breeder, even for this most unnatural crime." 
" Another writer," says Fessenden,* " directs 
to separate the sow from the rest of the swine 
six or eight weeks before her bringing forth, so 
that she may become accustomed to her pen. 
Care should be taken, however, to have her 
pen kept dry and well littered ; always give 
them litter enough so as not to be obliged to 
give any for six days before the time, for noth- 
ing disturbs a sow more than an abundance of 
litter, and which, in my opinion, has a great 
tendency to induce her to destroy her young. 
If the sow is with other swine till within a few 
days of her bringing forth, and then separated, 
she will not get accustomed to her pen, and 
will be pretty sure to destroy her pigs." Raw 
salt pork, cut in small pieces, and given, will 
prevent them from eating their pigs. I have 
seen it given after they had eaten two or three 
of their litter, with good success. But, to pre- 
vent mischief, it should be kept by them at 
this time." In confirmation of this remedy, 
another writer t says : — " I have been careful 
for a week before my sows were about to 
farrow, to give them some butchers' meat, 
which does not cost much ; if easy to be pro* 
cured, give them a plenty, and I venture to say 
they will not eat their pigs. 

A third correspondent of the same paper ob- 

* Vide Complete Farmer, p. Ifi3. 

f New Eagland Farmer, vol. ixi p. 298. 



SWiNE BREEDER. tt 

serves*: — ^" When the period of weaning is 
near, I take the sow apart and give her free 
access to a warm hed room, of ample dimen- 
sions in my barn, with a dry plank floor, where 
the shingled waUs prevent the entrance of cold, 
rain or wind, with jnst enough straw to amuse 
her ' momeuts of anxiety,' but not enough to 
allow a single pig to cover his head and lose his 
road to the fountain of comfort. The Complete 
Parmer mentions a communication of ' Berk- 
shire,' who attributes the evil to the confine- 
ment of the sow in a tight pen, from the ground, 
and the want of a suitable supply of potatoes, 
turnips, ruta baga, &c., in addition to their, 
other food. Another correspondent who has 
raised fine pigs on board of a whale ship at 
sea, without grass or roots, believes animal 
food the specific remedy for the unnatural in- 
clination of sows to destroy their offspring. 
And ' a subscriber ' is sanguine in the opinion, 
that if sows are so placed as to come to the 
ground a few days before pigging, no disap- 
pointment would ever happen in the loss of 
pigs. If it is not convenient to let them ramble 
at large, a temporary pen upon the ground is 
equally good." t 

In the report of the committee on swine,t we 
find the following advice upon the subject : — 
" It is a good precaution to sponge the backs of 
the pigs immediately after they are bcrn, with 
a strong infusion of aloes in lukewarm water, 

* New England Farmer, vol. ix. p. 305. 

t Page lt>4. 

\ Cultivator, vol. vi. p. 31. 



72 The AMERICAN 

as its bitter taste will prevent the sow from 
destroying them; care should also be taken, 
before farrowing, to separate her from other 
hogs. To protect the pigs, an open frame 
or strong rail on each side of her, elevated a 
feAv inches from the ground, under which the 
pigs may run, has been recommended." 

Mowbray, in his treatise on poultry, &c., re- 
marks : — " A vigilant swine herd, solicitous to 
preserve all the pigs, will watch and attend the 
farrowing sow day and night. As one precau- 
tion, the breeding sows ought not to be kept 
fat and hea\'y, yet in good health, and full 
strength. Few keepers will, or ever do, go the 
length of attending the sow, satisfying them- 
selves that she will be safest, left to her own 
care. To those who are willing to undertake 
such an office, a hamper or basket of straw will 
be found convenient in which to withdraAv the 
pigs from danger when it may be needful, in 
order to replace them properly as occasion may 
suit, which practice it may be necessaiy to 
repeat during two or three days until the pigs 
shall have acquired strength and caution suffi- 
cient to secure themselves. It may, indeed, be 
profitable to lose part of a too numerous litter, 
but accident will not respect the quality of the 
pigs, and the most puny and worthless may 
escape. None must be saved beyond the num- 
ber of teats, and, upon an average, nine is a 
sufficient number. Would the sow submit 
quietly, strapping her jaw^s during day and 
night, would be an effectual security in case of 
unnatural voraciousness." 



StVtNE JSREfiDfiR. 73 

Spaying Sows. — The great advantage, in the 
increased disposition to fatten, secured by this 
operation, is generally known. It is a process, 
however, which is not often resorted to, from 
ignorance as to the proper mode of operating, 
and consequent fear of injuring the animal. 
In the hand of one sufficiently acquainted with 
the business, — and the requisite knowledge is 
readily obtained from a single operation, — 
the experiment is an easy one, and when care 
is exercised, always attended with advanta- 
geous results. In the absence of plates, in aid 
of any description, it may be difficult to de- 
scribe the process minutely to our readers. 
We trust, however, to exhibit the matter with 
sufficient clearness to enable any one, after prac- 
tising a few times on a dead animal, to carry 
the operation to a successful result. 

The object of spaying, (Avhich is to prevent 
the sow from breeding and increase her apti- 
tude to fatten,) is accomplished by the entire 
removal of the ovaries, or " prides," as they are 
often termed, which " give the first impulse for 
venereal indulgence, and furnish whatever is 
contributed by the female towards the forma- 
tion of a new being." These ovaries are small 
round substances attached to the uterus, oj 
in ordinary phrase, the " pig-bag," and vary 
with the age of the animal, from the size and 
shape of a kernel of corn, to that of a common 
nutmeg, a little flattened. Those of very young 
pigs are of a white color, but in sows farther 
axivanCed, they are more or less red in appear- 
nce, and resemble small tumors. 



74 THE AMERICAN 

The only instrumeDts required in this opera- 
tion, are a common pocket knife with a large 
blade, well sharpened, and one of the smaller 
straight sail needles, threaded with strong 
waxed thread. 

The process is as follows : — Strong cords 
should be fastened to the hind legs of the ani- 
mal, b}^ which she can be suspended, with 
the belly towards the operator, from a spike or 
pin driven into an upright post. The mouth 
should be tied in such a manner as to prevent 
squealing, and the fore legs should be held by 
an assistant, in order to prevent the animal from 
struggling, as well as to keep the body firmly 
pressed against the post. When these arrange- 
ments are completed, the operator is to make 
an incision, lengthwise, between the four back 
teats, commencing between the two nearest the 
hind part of the animal, and passing down the 
belly towards the head, catting through the 
outer skin, the flesh and muscles beneath, to 
the peritonasum, or membrane which envelops 
the bowels. This must also be divided care- 
fully, that the intestines beneath may not be 
wounded, and is best effected, by placing the 
knife at the lower point of the opening made, 
and passing it gently upwards, then drawing 
the membrane nearer the operator, and pre- 
senting the back of the blade towards the 
intestines. The length of the slit should, in 
general, be about two inches, or sufficient for 
the admission of two fingers, which are to be 
introduced through the wound into the bowels, 
and passed upward towards the tail, in search 



SWINE BREEDER. 75 

of the uterus, or ^' pig-bag," which will be 
readily distinguished as a flat substance, ap- 
pearing to the touch like portions of a wet, 
empty bladder. At whatever point this is 
seized, the operator is to retain his hold of it, 
gradually drawing it tOAvards him, and working 
his finger forward, until he meets one of the 
ovaries, which he will recognise as a hard kernel 
like substance, as well as by its firmness and red- 
dish color. Grasping this firmly between his 
finger and thumb, he is to cut. it ofi", as near 
the uterus as possible, as upon its entire exter- 
mination depends the successful result of the 
experiment. After one of these ovaries, or 
prides, are removed, the uterus must still be 
held as before, and the finger gradually worked 
along it to the opposite side, where the remain- 
ing " pride " will be found, which must also 
be detached in the same manner. 

The proper method of sewing up the wound, 
demands considerable attention, and it should 
be borne in mind that the object, is to cause the 
aperture to unite along its edges as equally as 
possible. To effect this, the needle is placed 
for the first stitch, on the belly, at the right 
hand side of the lower part of the opening, and 
forced through the outer skin, flesh, and mus- 
cles into the bowels, care being taken that its 
point does not injure the intestines. The great- 
er portion of the thread is then drawn through, 
and the needle passes to the opposite side of 
the wound, and made to enter beneath the out- 
er skin, and carried through to the bowels as 
before. The object designed, is to bring the 



76 THE AMERICAI^ 

lower edges of the wound together first. Foiif 
of the cross stitches described will be sufficient 
to effect this, and should be taken, on each side^ 
below the outer skin until the upper part of the 
opening is reached, when the last stitch should 
be passed, like the one at the commencement^ 
through the outer skin, muscles and peritouEe- 
um. The thread, if drawn gently at both ends^ 
will now close the lower edges of the wound. 
The operator now continues closing the upper 
portion of the wound by stitches, exactly oppo- 
site each other, until he cirri ves opposite the 
stitch first inserted. Here the ends of the' 
threads are tied, and a slight portion of tar- 
salve is rubbed over and around the wound. 
No farther care is needed, and the distended 
parts are soon united. 

This operation is sometimes performed by an 
incision through the left flank, and is resorted 
to when sows are with pigs. Young sows not 
iutended for breeding, are spayed at five or six 
weeks oM to great advantage. In older ani- 
mals, the best season for operation is at the 
times they exhibit desires for sexual intercourse, 
as at those seasons the ovaries are full and 
easily distinguished. 

As a general rule, all animals on which the 
process of spaying is to be performed, should 
be shut up and allowed no food the night be- 
fore, nor any on the morning of the operation y 
in this way, allowing ample time for a free dis- 
charge of the contents of the bowels. 

This operation when performed by a skilful- 
hand, is safe and easy, and a few experiments 



SWINE BREEDER. 77 

made on dead subjects at first, will impart the 
requisite knowledge. Ignorance of the pro- 
per mode of conducting the process, has pre- 
vented its more general adoption. 

The following substitute for spaying has 
been recommended — the introduction of hard 
round substances, through the vagina. Says 
a correspondent of the cultivator, — " the mo- 
dus operandi, in this neighborhood, as prac- 
tised by myself lately, but much longer by 
others, is simply this ; for convenience use a 
common goose quill as a tube, cut off smoothly 
at the small end, the other sharpened as a tooth 
pick, to be used as a handle ; then pass the small 
end down the vagina two inches or more .(accord- 
ing to the size of the animal,) through which 
drop six or seven shot, say No, 3, and the work 
is complete. Nothing can be more simple, inn#- 
"Cent and efficacious." 

A writer in the Genesee Parmer, in reference 
to this method, remarks : — " A new mode has 
been adopted, as a substitute for spaying, which 
is of great importance to the agriculturist 
From a number of contradictory reports, and 
from a want of knowledge in operating, the 
system met with few a^ivocates, and for the 
best reason, because the instructions were to use 
shot which did not answer the purpose. Instead 
of shot, a bullet is now used, which fully and 
completely answers the desired object. I have 
the best assurance of its efficacy, and with 
pleasure make the communication to the world. 

"Mr. Hancock Davis, my near neighbor, hai^ 
d;ried the experiment, and the result was com- 



78 THE AMERICAN 

plete and satisfactoiy, so. much so, that he has 
operated on all his young sows, to the number 
of fifty ; they are all healthy, thriving and fat, 
and as barren as if they had been spayed, show- 
ing no inclination for the boar. He performs 
the operation by hanging the sow up by the 
hind legs in the manner of spaying, and through 
a reed or any tube, introduced two or three 
times into the vagina, a small rifle bullet is 
deposited." 

The proper modes of operation for castrating 
the boar are so generally known, as to require 
no explanation. With the efficacy of either of the 
proposed substitutes for spaying, the present 
writer has no acquaintance. The first is men- 
tioned by a writer in the Fran1{:lin Farmer, (we 
believe Bird Smith, Esq., of Kentucky,) as 
being unsuccessful. 

The power of ascertaining the weight of live 
stock without the tedious process of weighing, 
is one of great practical utility, and we annex 
the following remarks on the subject, from the 
Cattle Keeper's Guide : — 

"Method of ascertaining the weight 

OF CATTLE WHILE LIVING. This is of the 

utmost utility for all those who are not experi- 
enced by the eye, and by the following direc- 
tions the weight can be ascertained within a 
mere trifle : — Take a string, put it round the 
breast, standing square, just behind the shoulder 
blade ; measure on a foot rule the feet and 
inches the animal is in circumference — this is 
called the girth ; then with the string, measure 
from the bone of the tail, which plumbs the line 



SWINE BREEDER. 79 

with the hinder part of the buttocks ; direct the 
line along the back to the forepart of the shoul- 
der blade ; take the dimensions on the foot rule 
as before, which is the length, and work the 
figure in the following manner; girth of the 
buttock, 6 feet 4 inches, 5 feet 3 inches; 
which, midtiplied by 23, (the number of pounds 
allowed to each superficial foot of all cattle 
measuring less than seven and more than five 
feet in girth) makes 713 pounds and allowing 
14 pounds the stone, is 50 stone, 13 lbs. Where 
the animal measures less than nine and more 
than seven feet in the girth, 31 is the number of 
pounds to each superficial foot. Again, suppose 
a pig or very small beast should measure two 
feet in girth and two feet along the back, which 
multiplied together, makes 16 square feet; 
that multiplied by 11, the number of pounds 
allowed for each square foot of cattle measuring 
less than 3 in girth, makes 44 pounds, which 
divided by 14, to bring it to stones, is 3 stones 
3 pounds. Again, suppose a calf, sheep, &c., 
should measure 4 feet 6 inches in girth and 
9 inches in length, which, multiplied together 
makes 16^ square feet, that multiplied by 16, 
the number of pounds allowed to all cattle meas- 
uring less than 5 feet and more than 3 in 
girth, makes 26 pounds, which divided by 14, 
to bring it into stones, is 18 stones, 12 pounds. 
The dimensions of the girth and length of 
black cattle, sheep, calves, or hogs, will be as 
exact, taken in this way, as is at all necessary 
for any computations or valuation of stock, and 
will answer exactly to the four quarters, sinking 



80 THE AMERICAN 

the offal, and the calculation is one which e very- 
man who can get a bit of chalk may perform ; 
a deduction must be made for a half fatted 
beast, of one stone in twenty, from that of a 
fat one ; and for a cow that has had calves, one 
stone must be allowed, and another for not 
being properly fat." 



SWINE BREEDER. 61 



CHAPTER III. 

Cleanliness and humane treatment essential in rearing 
swine — Allotment of suitable and convenient pens — The 
proper method of obtaining large quantities of manure 
from swine, and its great value — Pastures for hogs— Mode 
of constructing styes — Proper form of trough — Stall pens 
— Notice of various piggeries — Proposed plan of piggery. 

It was remarked by Columella, more than 
eighteen hundred years ago, that " the bodies of 
cattle ought to be rubbed down daily as well 
as the bodies of men " and that this process, 
no less than a supply of food, was requisite for 
their improvement. The truth of this obser- 
vation from one of the most ancient agricultu- 
ral writers, though lamentably disregarded or 
forgotten in the practice, is still recognised 
and sometimes mentioned in the theories of 
later years. It is an opinion, which, even in 
the absence of the proof furnished by occa- 
sional experiments, seems to demand the im- 
mediate consideration and adoption of hu- 
mane and prudent farmers. And yet, if we 
except the horse, whose glossy coat and well 
rubbed limbs prove oftener the pride of his 
owner in neatness of appearance, than any 
reference to the comfort of his steed, how little 
attention is paid to the outward condition of 
those valuable animals on whose growth, mar 
turity and sale, often depend his means of sub- 
sistence and anticipated wealth. 

But it is not alone the outward condition 



82 THE AMERICAN 

and appearance of the animal that deteriorates 
by such neglect — the inward, by a strong sym- 
pathy, suffers also. It is known that many of 
the fluids of the system pass off unperceiv^ed 
by exertions from the surface, and that this in- 
sensible perspiration is needed to secure the 
healthy tone and action of the body. The par- 
tial stoppage of this natural channel for the 
waste fluids of the system is soon rendered ap- 
parent in a greater or less derangement of the 
general health, while its total suppression is 
followed by most violent disease. Swine, it is 
well known are subject to cold and fevers, orig- 
inating, doubtless, as in the human system 
they often do, from a deranged state of the ex- 
cretoiy vessels of the surface. To guard 
against these evils, among other remedies, 
cleanliness and friction are essential requisites. 
Of the diseases of these animals, the symptoms 
by which they are indicated, and the necessary 
treatment, w^e shall speak hereafter. At pres- 
ent, we would merely call the attention of the 
humane breeder, or him whose object is mere 
gain, to the important fact, that upon the state 
of the skin materially depends the health and 
consequently the advancement in flesh, and 
subsequent profit of the animal. Observation 
as to this particular, as well as the quality and 
quantity of food, the mode of its preparation and 
time of feeding, would banish, to no small ex- 
tent, the maladies to which swine are subjected. 
Says a correspondent of one of our most val- 
uable periodicals,* — and his remarks though 

* Vide Farmer's Register, vol. vi. p. 557. 



SWINE BREEDER. 83 

referring to another animal are to a considera- 
ble extent applicable to hogs, — " Whenever 
cows are regularly curried and rubbed, they 
are invariably stronger and in a healthier con- 
dition ; not liable to cutaneous and other dis- 
eases ; and from experience, I know they yield 
more milk, and that too of a better quality, a 
cleaner milk, richer cream, and sweeter butter 
necessarily follow. 

" I make it a practice to curry my cows once a 
day very carefully. I never suffer any dung 
to stick to their coats, it looks bad and injures 
the cows. Many farmers seem to think that in 
order to have healthy and good cows you need 
only to feed them with a sufficiency of food ; 
however, I am fully convinced from experience, 
that cows may be well supplied with food, still 
they Avill not be as profitable as they would be, 
if kept perfectly clean and free from all kinds 
of dirt, and matter obstructing perspiration ; 
besides this, if cows are kept perfectly clean, 
they will thrive upon less quantity of food." 
The following experiment is interesting as sub- 
stantiating the position we have taken — " Six 
pigs of the Norfolk breed, and of nearly equal 
weight, were put to keeping at the same time, 
and treated the same as to food and litter for 
about seven weeks. Three of them were left 
to shift for themselves as to cleanliness ; the 
other three were kept as clean as possible by a 
man employed for the purpose, with a curry 
comb and brush. The last, consumed in seven 
weeks fewer peas by five bushels, than the 
other three, yet they weighed more when killed 



S4 THE AMERICAN 

by two Stone and four pounds, (thirty-six 
pounds) upon an average, or six stone twelve 
pounds upon the Avhole." * Says a writer in 
the Genesee Farmert : — " Ahuost any hog, in 
any condition and place, will improve, but to 
profitably fatten, not only must the food be of 
the right kind and given in the proper manner, 
but every necessary attention should be paid to 
the comfort, cleanliness and health of the ani- 
mal." 

It is a great error, says Low, to leave these 
janimals in a state of filth and neglect. The 
hog is not a filthy animal by choice. He de- 
lights in a clean bed ; he will wallow, indeed, 
in the mire like the elephant, the rhinoceros, 
and other pachydermatous or thick skinned 
animals, to which he belongs, but this is not 
because he prefers filth, but because he loves 
coolness and moisture. 

But it is not alone the health, and consequent 
value of the hog which cleanliness secures, but 
a comparatively great degree of docility and 
quietude, on the part of the animal thus treated. 
We have ourselves witnessed the successful 
result of daily rubbing, on different breeds of 
swine, rendering them tractable, and familiar- 
ized to the approach and touch of man. In- 
deed, so great appeared to be the relish for the 
comfort thus afforded them, that the appearance 
of their owner was the signal for their ap- 
proach. No sooner Avas the operation of rub- 
hmg on one side finished than they would rise 

* The Bee, Pictou, Nova Scotia, f Vol. ix. p. 299. 



SAV-INE BRE!Et>feTt. 8^ 

and present the other, and seemingly evinced 
in numerous ways, their gratitude for kind and 
gentle treatment. " I have ever observed,'' 
says a writer,=^ " the sagacit}^ of swine to be 
equal to that of any domestic animal. The 
too general barbarous treatment of kicking and 
beating them as if inanimate beings, only tends 
to make them vicious and furious. I do not, 
in the least, permit any of my swine to be ill 
the least abused, but give encouragement to 
have them gently treated. By this mode, they 
will follow the boy who feeds them, like so many 
dogs, and Avill even in the open fields lay them- 
selves down to be soothed and played with. 
One of my laborers, living near me, was lately 
employed on a common in front of my house. 
I observed a pig near him all the morning. 
When the man went to dinner, the pig followed 
him ; when he rettirned the pig returned, which 
induced me to be very attentive, and I found 
the pig grazing within two yards of him the 
whole day. On inquiry, I folmd that he had 
not purchased the pig more than a fortnight 
before, when he was so unmanageable theit it 
was with difficulty he could drive him home, 
and that according to his usual method of 
gentle treatment, the man found that pigs could 
be so tamed as to follow him wherever he 
would permit them." 

The allotment of suitable enclosures, and 
the construction of convenient pens for swine, 
are matters of great importance to those who 

* Bath Society papers, vol. iii. p. 328. 



86 THE AMERICAN 

rear these animals with a view to proiit. The 
miserable custom of permitting swine to roam 
at large, unattended by a swine herd, and al- 
lowing them to gather food throughout extensive 
districts, cannot be too severely reprehended. 
It is desirable that every farmer who consults 
the comfort of his animals should have both 
pens and pasture — the latter well covered with 
clover, of small dimensions, and, if possible, 
affording the hogs ready access to water. To 
effect this object, the fences which enclose the 
pasture may be extended so as to embrace a 
portion of some running stream, or if this is 
not practicable, some spring, from which water 
may be constantly flowing into an artificial 
reservoir. It is found that hogs thrive better, 
when they enjoy the means of slaking thirst as 
nature prompts them, than Avhen they are 
restricted to water drawn from wells and fur- 
nished at stated intervals. Even in the absence 
of a stream suitable for the purpose, or a spring, 
water should, if possible, be conveyed, to some 
artificial pool, or trough, in sufficient quantities 
for their use at any moment. The size of the 
pasture will of course depend, to some extent 
on the situation of the farm, and number of 
hogs. In general, however, whore the herd is 
numerous, it is deemed advisable, to scatter 
it in different enclosures, placing those hogs 
that are nearly of the same age and strength 
together. Small orchards, well set in clover, 
afford an excellent pasture for hogs. Their 
manure greatly enriches the ground ; while the 
roots of the trees, near which, in such enclo- 



SWINE BREEDER. 87 

stires, their rooting propensities are mostly 
exercised, derive great advantage from frequent 
loosening of the soil. 

It is a matter of great importance to the farm- 
er to provide such enclosures, and adopt such 
treatment, as will secure from his hogs the 
greatest quantity of manure. Hog manure is 
extremely valuable, and large quantities may be 
obtained with slight attention. Where these 
animals are allowed the range of small ^rards 
or pastures, the method pursued by a corres- 
pondent of the Farmer's Cabinet, will prove 
advantageous* : — " I usually keep and fatten, 
he remarks, four hogs in the year; these I 
keep confined in a yard twenty feet square, 
with a warm and convenient shed attached 
thereto, as a shelter for them during the night 
time, and in cold and stormy weather." Into 
the yard he placed the scrapings of ditches, the 
dirt that is continually in and about buildings, 
and this became mixed with the straw with which 
they were littered. The whole was cleared out 
as often as was judged expedient. The quan* 
tity and quality of the manure would be greatly 
increased, if the pen was supplied with weeds, 
(an excellent way this of turning these noxious 
plants to a good account,) and in the absence 
of weeds, which by the way is not very com- 
mon, even on our best cultivated farms, resort 
may be had to the woods ; here the farmer has 
an abundance of leaves and other rubbish that 
may be used to great advantage. *' By the 

* Vol. ii. p. 43. 



8^ 



♦THE AMfeRtdAN 



adoption of the above course, more than twerl' 
ty-five loads of manure was obtained, as the 
product of four hogs, and this, too, of a supe^ 
rior quahty to that generally derived from the 
stable or yard." 

Another writer in the Yankee Farmer,* 
says:—" My plan is this ; yard the hogs through 
the year. Give each hog, to work upon, ten 
loads of manure from the swamp. Some men 
think to avoid expense in keeping, by permitting 
their hogs to ' run at large,' or in a large pas- 
ture. This is a bad practice ; the hogs ' run 
away' so much of their flesh, that it requires 
nearly as much to keep them in a thriving 
state as if they were yarded. If it did not, the 
pasture would be much more preferable for 
other stock. More than this, the hogs will 
convert about four loads more of mud into good 
manure, Avhich will more than twice pay the 
extra cost of yarding." 

Another correspondent still, of the same pa- 
per remarks t : — " I keep my sty well littered 
with straw, leaves, weeds, soil from the woods, 
and meadow earth, obtained from ditching, by 
carting, together with that put into the yard, 
from t\vo to ten loads per week. I sometimes 
put a few handfuls of rye in different places in 
the yard, and let in the hogs. Feeding them 
there for a few days, they completely stir up 
and commute the contents of the yard. I am 
confident that I make four times the quantity 
of manure my father did, and with no increase 

* Vol. iii. p. 410. t Vol. i. p. 67. 



SWINE BREEDER. 89 

in the number of stock, and of a little better 
quality, too, comparatively none of its strength 
being washed away by the rains and evaporated 
by the sun." 

The suggestions of a correspondent to the 
Northern Farmer, quoted in the Farmer's Regis- 
ter, contain much information on this subject. 
After stating the reasons which induced him 
to abandon the ordinary mode of suffering his 
pigs to run at large, for the better one of con- 
fining them in pastures — and his subsequent 
exchange of this for a smaller enclosure, which 
he contracted from time to time, until satisfied 
that a yard of twenty feet by fourteen, was 
sufficient for six hogs, if well supplied with ma- 
terials to make manure in to advantage, he thus 
continues : — " My method of supplying these 
materials is the following ; after having cleared 
their yard at the season of planting, I put into 
it such portions of straw as I may have on 
hand after the season of foddering is past ; and 
if I have not a sufficient quantity of this to 
furnish the necessary supply till vegetable sub- 
stances attain a sufficient growth to be profit- 
ably collected, I put in earth collected from 
the low places by the side of the highway; 
though this I more generally place in or near 
my barn yard, in a situation to receive and 
retain the wash that might otherwise escape 
from that. Brakes and weeds of any kind are 
valuable. These I make use of, to the extent 
they are attainable, when in a green state, as I 
consider green vegetable substances, for this 
purpose, Sir more valuable than dry. Potato 
7 



90 THE AMERICAN 

tops, when pulled for early use, before they be» 
come dry and shriveled, I consider equal if 
not superior to any other green substance for 
this purpose. Pea vines I usually put into my 
hog yard after the peas are thrashed off, and if 
some are put in before being thrashed, they are 
as gratefully received by the inmates of the 
yard. The quantity of manure made by my 
hogs is, for each one, double that made by each 
cow for the same period of time. The quan- 
tity of vegetable matter suitable for manure, 
that remain in most crops ai'tor the fruit and 
grain is selected, and the ani( unt of manure 
that can be obtained if tliis matter is carefully 
collected and carted to the pens of hogs and 
other animals are indeed astonishing. " The 
expressed cane," says J. H. Cowper, in an able 
communication to the Southern Agriculturist, 
" tops and leaves, from an acre of cane yield 
about 10,(X)0 lbs. of dry vegetable matter. An 
acre of corn including blades, stalks, husks, and 
cobs, gives about 3500 lbs., when the yield of 
corn has been 20 bushels ; and the after crop of 
peas 1000 lbs. — together 4500 lbs. An acre of 
solid peas 2000 lbs. The potato vines, pump- 
kins, and turnips, being eaten green, contribute 
only to the production of fluid manure. The 
total quantity of vegetable matter to be applied 
to the manuring of 16 acres in crop, will there- 
fore be — 

4 acres in com, at 4500 lbs', per acre, . 18,000 lbs. 
1 acre in peas and turnips, , . . . . 2,000 <' 
3 acres in cane, 30,000 '' 

50,000 



SWINE BREEDER. 91 

whicli, if merely rotted by the rain, will yield 
100.000 lbs. of manure, and if rotted by urine 
and' dung of stock from 150,000 to 200,000 lbs. 
or at least 25.000 lbs. of manure to each of the 
four acres proposed to be manured. 

We are inclined to dwell still longer on the 
subject of manure, because its great importance, 
and the proper modes of collecting the greatest 
quantity, seem in many portions of our country 
to be wholly overlooked. Especially is this 
the case throughout the western states. Truss- 
ing to the extreme luxuriance of the soil, the 
lands of many farmers are burdened with one 
exhausting crop after another, until at length 
the productiveness of the farm is materially 
reduced, and finally measures are necessarily 
resorted to, to improve an impoverished con- 
dition of the soil which proper manuring would 
have prevented altogether. Many persons 
seem to consider a yard where the dung of 
animals can be collected, sufficient for all pur* 
poses — little dreaming that upon the construc- 
tion of this enclosure depends both the quality 
and quantity of the manure ; that successive 
rains may be gradually washing away the most 
fertilizing portions of their yard, or excessive 
fermentation causing the escape of gases which, 
if possible, should always be retained. The 
dung of animals, when intended for manure, 
should be protected as far as practicable from 
exposure to the air. *' He," says Arthur Youngs 
Esq., " who is within the sphere of the scent of 
his dunghill, smells that which his crop would 
have eaten, had he permitted it. Instead o£ 



^ tHE AMERtCAN 

manuring the land, he manures the atmosphere- 
and before his dunghill is finished, another' 
parish and perhaps another county." "As few 
exhalations," remarks Fessenden,* "as possible, 
ought to be suffered to rise from the excrements 
of animals. Fre^h manure ought to be kept 
as carefully from the sun and rain, as grass 
which has been cut for hay. But how are these 
objects to be effected? The answer is an easy 
one. Prevent the rain from draining off the 
best portions of the manure, by constructin^g 
a yard in a dishy form, lowest in the centre, 
so that the urine of the animals may be col- 
lected in a reservoir and retained ; and prevent 
fermentation, or absorb its products by occa- 
s-ionally scattering over the dungheap a quan- 
tity of the same earth with which the yard is 
bedded. " Earth," remarks the author of the 
letters of Agricola, " is a powerful absorber of 
all the gases which arise from putrefaction. 
Put a layer of common soil along the top of a 
fermenting dunghill, from tAvelve to eighteen 
inches thick, and allow it to remain there whiler 
the process is carrying on with activity, and 
afterwards separate it carefully from the heap, 
and it will have been impregnated with the 
most fertilizing virtues. The composts which 
of late have attracted such universal attention ^ 
a;nd occupied so large a place in all agricultural 
imblications, originated in the discovery of the 
absorbing power of the earth, and in the appli- 
cation of it to the most beneficial purposes. A 
skillful agriculturalist would no more think of 

* Vide CoiBplete Farmer, p. 173. 



SWINE BREEDER. 93 

allowing a violent fermentation to be going on 
in his dunghill, unmixed with earth, or other 
matter, to fix and secure the gaseous elements, 
than the distiller would suffer his apparatus to 
be set at work, without surmounting his still 
with the worm, to coo] and condense the rare- 
fied spirit which ascends to evaporation. In 
both, the most precious matter is that which 
assumes the aeriform state ; and to behold it 
escaping with unconcerned indifference is a 
demonstration of the most profound ignorance. 
A slight fermentation in a dunghill, may in- 
deed be advantageous in causing the woody 
fibre, contained in many of th-e substances 
deposited there, to decay and dissolve, but 
wooden fibre is the only vegetable matter that 
requires this process to render it nutritive to 
plants. In the straw of chaff and litter, as 
well as the leaves and other products of the 
forest — which may be advantageously placed 
in barn yards for conversion to manure — will 
be found considerable portions of fibrous mat- 
ter, which must be fermented to be useful. It 
therefore becomes a matter of great importance 
to ascertain correctly how far this process of 
fermentation should be allowed to proceed. On 
this point Sir Humphrey Da\"y remarks* : — " In 
all cases where dung is fermenting, there are sim- 
ple tests by which the rapidity of the process, 
and consequently the injury done, may be dis- 
covered. If a thermometer, plunged into the 
dung, does not rise to above 100 degrees Faren- 

* Vide Davy's Agricultural Chemistry^ republished in the 
Farmer's Register. 



94 THE AMERICAN 

heit, there is little danger of much aerifbntt 
matter flying off". 

"When a piece of paper, moistened in muriatic 
acid, held over the steam arising from a dung- 
hill, gives dense fumes, it is a certain test that 
the decomposition is going too far, for this indi- 
cates that volatile alkali is disengaged. 

"When dung is to be preserved for any time, 
the situation in which it is kept is of import- 
ance. It should, if possible, be defended from 
the sun. To preserve it under sheds would be 
of great use ; or to make the site of a dung- 
hill on the north side of a wall. The floor on 
which the dung is heaped should, if possible, 
be paved with flat stones, and there should be 
a little inclination from each side towards the 
centre, in which there should be drains, con- 
nected with a small well furnished with a pump, 
by which any fluid matter may be collected for 
the use of the land. It too often happens that 
a dense mucilaginous and extractive fluid is 
suffered to drain away from the dunghill so as 
to be entirely lost to the farm." 

The urine of animals is one of the most val- 
uable manures that can be applied to land ; but 
it should be applied in a recent state, as a great 
portion of the soluble animal matter it contains 
is destroyed during the process of putrefaction. 
If unmixed with solid matter, it should always 
be diluted with water, as in its pure state 
it contains more animal matter than can be 
safely absorbed for the nourishment of plants. 

According to some writers and practical farm- 



SWINE BREEDER. 95 

ers,* the value of the urine of cattle, if pro- 
perly preserved and applied to the purposes of 
vegetation, is greater than that of all the dung, 
which the same animals would yield. A letter 
from Charles Alexander, near Peebles, in Scot- 
land, addressed to Sir John Sinclair, in 1812, 
contains much valuable information on this 
subject. "This intelligent farmer had long 
been impressed with the great importance of 
the urine of cattle as a manure, and he set 
about to discover, by a long and well-conducted 
series of experiments, the best method of col- 
lecting and applying it. He began by digging 
a pit contiguous to the feeding stable, but dis- 
tinct altogether from that which was appropri- 
ated for the reception of the dung. The dimen- 
sions of this pit were thirty-six feet square, and 
four feet deep, surrounded on all sides by a 
wall, and the solid contents Avere one hundred 
and ninety-two yards. Having selected the 
nearest spot where he could find loamy earth — 
and this he ahvays took from the surface of 
some field under cultivation — he proceeded to 
fill it, and found that, with three men and ten 
horses, he could easily accomplish twenty-eight 
cubic yards a day ; and the whole expense of 
transporting the earth did not exceed twenty- 
two dollars. When the work was complete, he 
leveled the surface of the heap in a line with 
the sewer which conducted the urine from the 
interior of the building, on purpose that it 
might be distributed with regularity and might 
saturate the whole from top to bottom. The 

* Vide Complete Farmer, p. 175-^177. 



96 THE AMERICAN 

quantity conveyed to it, he estimated at about 
eight hundred gallons. The urine was supplied 
by fi3urteen cattle, kept there for five months on 
fodder and turnips. The contents of the pit 
produced two hundred and eighty-eight loads, 
allowing two cubic yards to be taken out in 
three carts ; and he spread forty of these on 
each acre, so that this urine in five months 
produced a compost sufficient for the fertiliza- 
tion of seven acres of land. He states farther, 
that he had tried this experiment for ten years, 
and had used indiscriminately in the same field 
either the rotted cow- dung or the saturated 
earth ; and in all stages of the crop he had 
never been able to find any perceptible difler- 
ence. But what is still more wonderful, he 
found his compost lasted in its effects as many 
years as his best manures ; and he therefore 
boldly avers that a load of each is of equiva- 
lent value. Mr. Robert Smith, of Baltimore, 
has his stables constructed in such a manner 
that all the liquid discharges of his cattle are 
conducted, together with the wash of the barn 
yard, into a cistern, pumped into a hogshead, 
and applied in a liquid state to the soil Avhich it 
is wished to manure. This mode of making 
use of this substance, is likewise recommended 
in the Code of Agriculture : — " The advantages 
of irrigating grass lands with cow urine almost 
exceed belief. Mr. Harley, of Glasgow, (who 
keeps a large dairy in that town,) by using 
cow urine, cuts some small fields of grass six 
times, and the average of each cutting is fifteen 
inches in length. There are disadvantages, 



SWINE BREEDER. 97 

however, connected with this mode of applying 
this powerful manure. It must be applied soon 
after it is formed, or oftentimes the putrefactive 
process will commence and deprive it of part 
of its efficacy. And, as urine is of a scorching 
quality, it is unsafe to apply it to growing crops 
in great heat or drought. Hence it is unad- 
visable to use it except for grass, after the 
month of April and May, unless diluted. It is 
particularly useful in the spring, when the 
application of liquid manure gives a new im- 
petus to the plant and makes its growth more 
vigorous. This manure forces newly planted 
cabbages in a most remarkable manner." 

In addition to pastures, pens, especially for 
fattening hogs, will be required, and upon the 
construction of these with reference to securing 
the double objects of convenience and economy, 
great attention should be paid. Many of the 
styes, even on extensive and otherwise Avell 
provided farms, are miserable structures, ill- 
adapted to the comforts of their inmates and 
the purposes proposed by their erection. Mow- 
bray, while writing on the conveniences for 
swine, remarks* : — " Room and ventilation are 
objects of the greatest importance, where numbers 
are kept, and dry lodgings, without which essen- 
tials success must not be expected. Nor are swine, 
in whatever state, proof against excessive cold, 
for I have known instances of their being 
frozen to death in their sty, and have always 
remarked, that severe weather materially checks 
their thriving, unless they be sufficiently de- 

* Mowbray on poultry, &cc., p. 163. 



98 THE AMERICAN 

fended from the chilling effects of the air. 
The sty, situated upon a dry f nindation, as 
well as sheltered above, should be paved at bot- 
tom, to the end that it may be kept clean and 
dry, the operation for which should be daily 
performed ; for although pigs will vrallow in the 
mire, they are yet more thrifty in clean lodg- 
ings. As swine, confined, usually employ their 
leisure time in demolishing with their teeth the 
wood Avork within their reach, the modern cast 
iron troughs are preferable ; at any rate wooden 
troughs ought to be iron bound." " The pig- 
ging house should be warm and dry, and 
secure from the inroads of foxes and other ver- 
min, which have been known to steal sucking 
pigs from the sleeping or absent sow. Short 
straw is preferable for a bed, but in not too 
great quantity, lest the pigs be smothered be- 
neath it ; this should be renewed, with due 
regard to cleanliness; and, as the unwieldy 
sow is apt to crush her young against the wall, 
it is proposed in the New Farmer's Calendar, 
to append an inclining or projecting rail around, 
beneath which the pigs may escape on the 
down lying of the sow." In the Complete 
Farmer,* we find the following observations : — 
'' Swine should not be kept in close and filthy 
pens. Though they wallow in the mire, their 
object is coolness not nastiness, and they thrive 
faster and enjoy better health when allowed 
clean and dry lodgings than when they are not 
thus accommodated. The late Judge Peters, 
of Pennsylvania, in an article entitled, ' Notices 

* Page 164. 



SWINE BREEDER. 99 

for a Young Farmer,' &c., observes, ' In airy, 
roomy, and moderately warm pens, paved and 
boarded, and often cleaned, they are healthy 
and thriving. They show a disposition to be 
cleanly, however otherwise it is supposed, and 
always leave their excrementitious matter in a 
part of the pen distinct from that in which they 
lie down. No animal will thrive unless it be 
kept clean.' " 

In the " Countrie Farm " — a work to which 
we have before referred — we find the following 
observations, which, notwithstanding the an- 
tique garb in which they are presented, are 
interesting, as evincing the notions of olden 
time upon this subject. Speaking of hogs the 
author continues — " And to the end that the 
corruption of the aire which this kinde of beast 
maketh in close places, may not cause him to 
haue any ill-sent or other diseases to grow vpon 
them in their cotes, especially when there are 
any number together, it behooveth that the 
doore thereof be made with thorough lightes of 
great barres, or clouen boards, to the end that 
their euill aire may passe away, and that which 
is good may come in place continually, and it 
is meet that the doore should give downe verie 
neere vnto the causey, to the end that they may 
not lift it vp with their snouts and cast it off the 
hinges ; for this cattle can hardly endure to be 
shut vp, but gnawe and bite with their teeth, 
whatsouere it bee that hindreth them from 
coming forth when they are enclosed. 

" The hogs which you intend to keep in and 
to fat shal not come foorth of their stye, being 



100 THE AMERICAN 

alone and free from others, neither shall they 
haue any lighte but at the doore which is made 
to go in at for to dress them. The care about 
these is not so great as of other cattle, excepted 
only the keeping of them cleane, and knowing 
how to make them good meate, so long as 
vntill they be fat, for after that they will eurie 
day leane some of their meate, not stirring out 
of tlieir place, as though they were without 
feeling and power for to move ; in such man- 
ner as that through the great height of fatnes 
they are growne vnto, and the thickness there- 
withal, myse sometimes make their nests vpon 
their backs and yet they not feel them, for they 
are sometimes seene to heap such quantities of 
fat vpon the live flesh, as that there are some 
hogs found a foot and a half thick of lard." 

It will be gathered, from the above remarks, 
that convenience, warmth, and the greatest 
possible freedom from moisture, are essential re- 
quisites in the construction of a sty. As to its 
form, various opinions have been entertained, and 
this must be determined by the circumstances 
of the farm, and its position as to other build- 
ings. "As a general rule, in buildings," says 
a writer, " a circle will take the least stuff", and 
a square the next less quantity, and parallelo- 
gram more than either. For instance, a circle 
twenty-three feet in diameter, will require 
nearly sixty-three feet of fence or boards to en- 
close it. A square, twenty feet each way, will 
require eighty feet ; this will contain a little 
more area than the circle ; but a parallelogram, 
which shall contain as much area as the square, 



SWlNfe BREEDER. Wi 

(400 feet,) say forty feet long and ten feet Avide, 
will require one hundred feet to enclose it. 

"A circle is somewhat difficult to construct, 
but a square is very easy. Suppose you erect 
a building twenty feet square, and have your 
pens on the outside ; three of the sides will give 
you space enough to accommodate and feed 
thirty swine. You can have your wood, steam- 
ers, boilers and vats in the twenty foot room, 
and feed them all, without going out of the 
room, by having a lid or trap-door to lift up, 
and giv^e you a chance to the troughs. If you 
can have it placed on the side of a hill where 
water can be obtained easily, and have a cellar 
dug into the hill, the floor of which should be 
on a level with the floor of your boiling room, 
it will be very convenient ; but if not, a cellaf 
below may be made in the usual manner, and 

granary in the chamber above." 

'^ The sty," remarks a writer in the Cabinet 
Farmer,* '' should be proportioned to the num^ 
ber of swine it is to contain. One of sixteen 
feet by tAvelve, is probably sufficient for eight 
fattening swine. It should be divided into two 
apartments ; that in the rear, which should be 
about six feet wide, should be dry and warm 
for the hogs to lie in. The front part of the 
sty, which would then be about ten feet wide, 
should have the floor descending on one side 
for the filth to run ofi", and on this side should 
be an opening. The trough should be on the 
upper side, covered with one or more lids, and 
upright fences should be set before it at such 

* Vol. i. p. 21b. 



i02 THE .AMERICAN 

distances apart, as that one hog only could put 
his head between any two of them, in order 
that, while feeding, the weaker animals should 
be protected against the stronger. The whole 
should be covered with a roof, for it is essential 
that they be protected from storms while they 
are in the outer or feeding apartment. Accord- 
ing to the foregoing, if sixteen hogs are to be 
kept or fatted in the sty, it should be thirty-two 
feet long and twelve wide, and in that case 
there might be a sleeping apartment at each 
end. These apartments should again be sub- 
divided, that for the quiet of the animals, par- 
ticularly in fatting, too many may not be forced 
to be together. It Avould probably be best also 
to divide the feeding apartment. Posts should 
also be set up in the sty for the hogs to rub 
themselves. If thirty-two hogs are to be kept 
or fatted, then perhaps the better way is to have 
two styes of the dimensions last described, 
placed together, with a roof over the whole, 
and a passage between them for the purpose of 
carrying food to the trough. If a part of the 
roof extended considerably beyond the sty, it 
would afford a convenient cover, for forming a 
heap of compost from the dung of the swine." 
Particular attention should be paid to the 
construction and arrangement of the trough, in 
order to secure the least possible waste of food, 
and prevent continual quarreling among the 
animals. To effect this object, various con- 
trivances have been adopted. Some have re- 
commended " witches," or sliding boards before 
the meat, so placed as to yield to the snout of 



SWINE BREEDER. 103 

the pig, admitting him to his food, and closing 
immediately on tiic withdrawal of the head. 
Others recommend that the only access to his 
food, allowed each hog, should be between two 
bars, sufficiently distant from each other to 
admit the head with a small portion of the 
necks. It is advisable however, if this method is 
employed, to fasten only the lower ends of the 
bars by pins, on which they can be turned ; 
thus allowing the upper ends, during the pro- 
cess of feeding, to be moved as far as may 
be necessary, graduating in this manner the 
aperture to the size of different animals. A 
preferable method, it is believed, would be to 
divide the eating apartment of each sty into as 
many stalls as there are pigs, thus securing a 
place for every animal where he could obtain 
his food in quiet. This arrangement in small 
styes, (those containing three or four hogs only, 
of nearly the same age and strength, are recom* 
mended,) could be effected at a small expense* 
Each stall should be formed barely large enough 
to admit a single occupant, and extend back 
sufficiently far to prevent his being crowded. 
Such stalls may be easily constructed, by short 
studs with rails between them, and should be 
about the same height as the hog. Where 
doors are used before the troughs, they might 
be arranged to open inward, and be firmly 
hooked to upright bars, in this way answering 
for partitions. But whatever mode may be 
adopted, the bars before the trough should never 
be omitted. Loudon, in his valuable Encyclo* 
pedia of Architecture, recommends the con- 



104 THE AMERiCAN' 

struction of a swinging door before the main 
entrance of each sty. " The use of the swing 
door," he remarks, '^ which is nothing more 
than a frame of boards suspended from a rail, the 
ends of which move in sockets freely either way 
between the jambs of the door, is to prevent 
the door from being left open in severe weather. 
When the pig wishes to go out, he soon learns 
to push it before him ; and the same when he 
wishes to return." 

In a compilation from the papers of the late 
Thomas Hale, Esq.,* a singular mode of feeding 
grain to hogs in such a manner as to prevent 
waste, is mentioned. The contrivance, how- 
ever, is not adapted to liquid food. In order to 
avoid unnecessary expenditure of food and the 
labor of constant attendance, the farmers of 
Oxfordshire, " place over the sty a vessel like 
the hopper of a mill, and into this put as much 
beans and peas, or other dry food, as will fatten 
a number of hogs. From this there comes a 
large square pipe, half way down the sty, 
through which the food continually descends 
out of the hopper. The pipe terminates at that 
distance in six smaller pipes, each of which 
ends in a little trough no bigger than just to 
admit the nose of the hog, and they come all 
of them with their ends so near the bottom, 
that there is never above a handful of food at a 
time in each trough. When this is taken away 
by the eating of the hog, there follows so much 
more. This prevents their wasting their meal, 
at the same time that they have a constant sup- 

* Page 64—65, Second Edition, London, 1768. 



SWINE BREEDER. 



105 



ply; and if it happen, for the convenience of 
the place, that a small current of water can be 
brought through the sty, they will in this man- 
ner be fattened with less trouble. 

When a continuous trough is placed before a 
long range of styes, it should be made very 
slightly shelving, so that water poured in at 
one end, will find its way through, clearing out 
all filth and sediment. Cleanliness of the pens 
and fixtures should never be omitted, and will 
amply repay a suitable attention. 

For the purpose of confining each animal to 
his proper place, admitting his mouth alone to 
the food placed before him, perhaps the follow- 
ing contrivance may be eflfectual. 

TROUGH. 




One half of the trough is covered over by a 
board, in which notches are cut sufficiently 
large to admit the neck of a single hog ; the 
whole trough is made som<?what shelving 
along the sides a b,so that the line a a, is some- 
what higher than the line b 0. The half in 
which the notches are inserted is the part with- 
in the pen. The uncovered portion projects 
8 



106 THE AMERICA]^ 

beyond the sty into the passage (or in case^ 
where simple yard enclosures are used, undei* 
a fence,) in order to receive the swill. The 
space allowed each animal should be divided 
as at d, and be made lowest at c, in order that 
the food may continually be found beneath the 
notches. Sliding divisions are preferable, which 
can be removed at pleasure, when the trough 
needs cleansing. 

In Reese's Encyclopedia, a practice is men- 
tioned as introduced by Mr. Patterson, of fatten- 
ing large hogs in separate stalls. Subsequent 
experiment has borne ample testimony to the 
advantage of this method. It is found that 
pigs confined in this manner, fatten with great 
rapidity, while the process of feeding is far 
more cleanly. So confident was Mr. Patter- 
son of the superiority of this method over all 
others, that he Avas ready to engage a pig, 
weighing at the commencement of the experi- 
ment 70 lbs. should in twenty-eight days in- 
crease to 140 lbs. " Seventy pounds live 
weight," adds the writer, may be called forty-- 
five pounds dead, which at 8d. per pound is 
80s. or 7s. 6d a week.* In the same volume, 
(title, pig case,) we are informed that stalls of 
this kind have been constructed on wheels, 
allowing the removal of the animal to different 
portions of a field, for the more equable distri- 
bution of his manure. The preferable mode> 
however, is to have a range of these pens under 
the same roof, as represented in the following 
cut, copied from the ^'British Husbandry." 

* Reese's Encyclopedia, article Swine^ 



SWINE BREEDER. 



lOT 



STALL PENS. 




Each pen, represented above, is built to fit 
the animal, with considerable exactness, and, 
in some cases, is designedly made so narrow, 
as never to admit his turning round, though 
allowing sufficient room for lying down. Each 
stall inclines from the head to the tail of the 
animal, and is cleaned out daily. No litter of 
any kind is permitted, and holes are bored in 
the floor to allow all moisture to escape. 

At one end of each stall is placed the trough, 
while the other contains a door, for the admis- 
sion of the hog. In the above cut, the lid of 
the trough is thrown up, and the animals are 
represented feeding. 

The erection of large piggeries has not 
been carried in the country to any great extent. 
In many parts of the Union, the animals are 
still allowed to run at large until near the 
time of preparing them for market, when they 
are turned into enclosures to be fattened. This 
method is generally adopted in the western 



tOS THE AMERlCAlif 

States, where swine are indulged in an exten- 
sive range, subsisting on mast and other arti- 
cles of food abounding in the forest, until the 
approach of the "slaughtering season" renders 
them objects of the more immediate care and 
attendance of the owner. At this period, the 
practice of turning them into small fields 
of corn, divided for the purpose, and removing 
them to others as the feed becomes exhausted, 
is often adopted, — a measure which, though 
sometimes advantageous, or at least excusable 
in that region of extraordinary fertility, and 
abundant crops, is still at variance with that 
economy in the preparation and administering 
of food, on which much of the profit of stock- 
raising must depend. 

Where the number of swine raised is suffi- 
cient to warrant the expense, a building should 
be erected, containing, in addition to the pens, 
suitable apartments, and rooms, for keep- 
ing and preparing food, with a good cellar suf- 
ficient to contain such articles as exposure to 
the frost would injure. The building should, 
if practicable, contain a well, or be supplied 
with water from some neighboring springs, so 
mtroduced as to be easily conveyed to different 
apartments. The rooms designed for the stor- 
age of grain, should be constructed with a 
tight floor, and secured as far as possible from the 
intrusion of rats and other vermin ; while that 
containing boilers and steaming apparatus-,, 
should be paved with brick, and the floor in- 
cline slightly from the centre to the sides, 
t^here the wash of the apartment can flow 



SWINE BREEDER. 109 

and be conducted in a suitable channel to the 
manure vats of the pens. 

The number of hogs which can be attended 
to by a single person in establishments of this 
kind, properly constructed, together with the 
great saving of time and labor, are indeed as- 
tonishing. 

Those who consult neatness of appearance 
in buildings of this description, and are willing 
to incur the necessary expenditures, will find 
many valuable hints as to the construction 
of farm houses of all kinds in Loudon's 
valuable Encyclopedia of Cottage, Farm and 
Village Architecture. In Reese's Encyclopedia, 
also, may be found the description and plate of 
a commodious and well arranged piggery^ 
erected by the Duke of Bedford. In Hender- 
son's Treatise on Swine, the author furnishes a 
representation of the building constructed for 
his own stock, and recommends it highly to 
the public. Though adapted to growing 
stores — which need, in the opinion of the au- 
thor, considerable room — it is, nevertheless, 
inferior to many recent structures of the kind, 
and fails to secure that close confinement requi- 
site for expeditious and successful fattening. 
Plans for houses of this kind have appeared in 
various American agricultural periodicals, and 
among others the following, which we extract 
from the Maine Farmer, as being economical 
and well adapted to the purposes proposed. 



110 



THE AMERICAN 



PLAN OF A PIGGERY. 



22 Feet. 



3 =-3! ^ 

« S * "* 

" r» ~ to 



ffi>fi 






o -" 

3 s: 



n a. 
■ ? B- 

C »-3 



•8 

* O* 



1 


P-i 


P P 


1 


— 


o 




=^ 1 


P- 


P P 


— 


— 


o 




^ 1 


P- 


p jfl 


— 


— 


o 


9Ft. 


10 Ft. a- 1 


Sleeping apartment 
4 by 9. 


Vat for making 

manure 9 by 10, and 

3 feet deep. 

a 


CD 

3 


1 

3- 


Apartment 

Feeding, 

6 by 9. 




r 


Plank with cleats. | 



22 Feet 



SWINE BREEDER. Ill 

This building is 36 feet long, and 22 feet 
wide, the roof shingled, and the walls made 
tight, by clapboarding. A sill passes length- 
wise, under the building, and is design- 
ed to support the floor, which only ex- 
tends to the rear of the sleeping and eating 
apartments. The other portion is divided into 
four vats, sunk to the depth of three feet in the 
ground, (as aaa,) into which all the rubbish, 
leached ashes, &c., that are made about the 
house, are thown ; and, by a spout from the sink 
in the kitchen, all the soap suds, and wash of 
the house, are carried out and deposited in a 
trough which is put up exactly level, and ex- 
tends the whole length of the vats, and lets 
out an equal quantity into each. Muck weed 
and other materials are also collected and de- 
posited in the vats. The remainder of the 
room, after taking out a passage three feet wide, 
is divided into pens for eating and sleeping. 
The floor to the former inclines six inches to- 
wards the vat, the more easily to drain off" any 
filth that may collect upon it ; but in the latter 
it is level. The partition between the passage, 
way and pens, and between the two pens, may 
be of any convenient height. The apart- 
ment for sleeping has a cover which may be 
raised or shut at pleasure, which keeps swine 
very warm in winter, and aflbrds them proper 
ventilation in summer. A plank with cleats 
is placed, one end on the floor, and the other on 
the bottom of the vats, for the hogs to pass up 
and down on. On the side of the building, 
opposite the passages, are doors, 5 feet wide. 



Il2 THE AMERICAN 

which open to the vats, with long glass win- 
dows over them, similar to the windows fre- 
quently placed over barn doors. There is an 
perture in the partition between the pens, for 
the hogs to pass from one to the other, which 
may be apportioned to the size of the hogs to 
be kept in them. In one of the apartments 
there is a door that opens to the yard, for the 
purpose of giving free passage to young pigs, 
and sows that are about bringing forth their 
young. 

A writer in the Maine Farmer, in comment- 
ing on this plan, remarks — and the suggestion is 
certainly valuable, — "We think that a building 
four feet wider than this might be made, and 
the floor of the pens, which, without injury, may 
be made one foot shorter, be allowed to run over 
the vats, which would give a space of nine feet 
on the other side of the passage way, in which 
may be a room to keep roots and other food for 
the swine, and another for boiling and steam- 
ing it. 

In the Cultivator,^ will be found an inter- 
esting account of the piggery in use at the 
Shaker Village, in Niskeuna, accompanied by 
a plate, sufficiently intelligible to render the 
construction of a similar one an easy matter. 
The mode of confining the pigs while at their 
food, by means of upright bars like those we 
have suggested, is exhibited in the plate. The 
chief advantage of this piggery seems to be, 
an arrangement by which the side walls of the 

*Vol. 2, p.p. 70, 71. 



SWINE BREEDER. 113 

rear portions of each pen can be thrown in- 
ward, like doors ; in this manner confining the 
animals to the eating and sleeping apartments 
for a short time, while the manure is removed 
from, the outer apartment. A hd is also placed 
before the troughs, which effectually shuts out 
the hogs, except at meal times. In the Ameri- 
can Farmer,* will be found a description of a 
piggery on a very extensive scale, constructed 
by Nathaniel Ingersol, Esq., whose successful 
exertions in the rearing and treatment of swine 
are entitled to great commendation. 

The piggery of Mr. Ingersol, is connected with 
the basement story of his barn, and ^contains 
apartments for boiling and steaming apparatus, 
pumps, bins for the storage of food, lofts 
for litter, (fee. In connection with the pens, a 
yard is allowed for sucking pigs to run in, and 
the sows are occasionally admitted to the barn- 
yard (35 feet by 57) where they are fed from 
troughs constructed for the purpose. A ref- 
erence to Mr. Ingersol's plan, will be found ex- 
tremely useful for those Avho contemplate the 
erections of pens on an extended scale. 

The piggery of E. Phinney, Esq., of Lex- 
ington, near Boston, has been much praised, as 
one combining economy and utility in a high 
degree. The following figure presents a plan 
sufficiently intelligible to render the construc- 
tion of a similar establishment an easy matter 
to the farmer. 

*See, also, Farmer's Register, Vol. 7, p. 37. 



114 



THE AMERICAN 



PLAN OF THE FLOOR OF THE UPPER STORY. 





= 


1 


= 




lill 


llll 




=^^ 






nil 


111 




^ 


^ 




III 


llll 




= 


^ 




nil 


llll 




^ 


Dormito- 
ry. 
5 ft. «q. 


Promenade, 10 
feet square. 


nil 


llll 

Eating 

apart. 
5 feet sq. 



SWINE BREEDER. 



115 




SIDE VIEW. 



" The roof covers the passage way and eat- 
ing and sleeping apartments on each side, and is 
made sufficiently high to enable the feeder to 
pass between the pens. The floors of the 
eating and sleeping apartments are made per- 
fectly tight — the floor in the promenade in the 
upper story, is laid with narrow plank, placed 
about one inch apart, so that whatever is drop- 
ped by the pigs, falls through on the compost 
beneath. The promenade of the lower story 
has no floor. The only passage for passing 
the pigs out and in, is by a slide door between 
each dormitory and the main passage way. 
The pens being on ground which is a little 
higher at the end where the boilers are placed 
than at the other ; the floor of the boiler room 
is on a level with the passage way of the upper 
story, where the pigs kept in this part of the 
building are taken in and out. At the other 
end of the building, the floor of the passage 
way in the lower story is on a level with the 
natural surface of the ground, and by a door at 



116 THE AMERICAN 

that end of the passage way, the hogs in the 
lower story are taken in and out. You will 
perceive that a pen 100 feet long and 34 wide, 
with 3 in a pen, will furnish ample accommo- 
dations for 120 hogs. A passage way for the 
feeder is made from the cooking room to the 
passage way in the lower story. 

The lower story corresponds with the upper, 
except that the promenade is extended out 
about six feet from the line of the upper out- 
side promenade line."* 

In all well constructed piggeries, ther 
should be several strong and commodious pens 
for boars, when in use, with openings into 
small enclosures, where the sow may be admit- 
ted. 

The styes designed for sows while nursin 
their young, should, also, open into small yards, 
for the purpose of avoiding too close confine- 
ment of the animal while in that condition. 

The value of the urine of animals as man- 
ure has been mentioned in a previous portion 
of this chapter. For the purpose of securing 
that of the hog, which is abundant, and where he 
is properly fed extremely rich, it is suggested that 
the floors of the eating and sleeping apartments 
should be made tight, and instead of inclining 
from the head to the tail of the animal, as rep- 
resented in the former plans, should be made 
shelving from the rear to the front portion of 
the pen, in such manner as to cause the urine 
to flow into a paved gutter, beneath the trough. 

*Vide, New Englaad Farmer, Vol. 18, No. 70, 71, 



SwiNE BREEDER. lit 

It can then be conducted to a vat or cask at one 
end of the piggery. This mode will facilitate 
the application of the urine in its recent state ; a 
point of great importance where its greatest 
benefits are desired. Into the gutter, also, may 
be conveyed the washing of the troughs. 
Where this mode is adopted, the inclination of 
the floors should be just sufficient to cause a 
flow of the urine towards the gutter, without 
being so shelving as to impede the easy re- 
moval of the dung occasionally dropped in 
these apartments. In this way all of the urine, 
except that voided by the animals while in the 
space alloAved as promenades, Avould be imme^ 
diateJy secured. The paved gutter should also 
incline very slightly the whole length of the 
piggery, and a pump be placed near the highest 
end, so arranged as to pass water, tvhen desir- 
able, both through the gutter and trough above. 

We have been permitted to examine the plan 
of a piggerjT- noAv in process of construction by 
the Hon. H. L. Ellsworth, of the city of 
Washington. The building is 75 feet long, 
and 16 feet wide; and is planned upon the 
most economical scale, adapted equally to those 
of large or slender means. It can be erected 
by a settler in a new country, without any 
other tools than the axe, the auger and the saw. 
This piggery combines several advantages, es- 
pecially in the mode of feeding swine. 

Fifty feet of the seventy-five are de Voted to 
pens, arranged five feet deep on each side 
of a passage six feet wide. Each pen is 
designed to accommodate three hogs, and con- 



118 The AMERICAN 

tains a dormitOty and eating apartment, each 
five feet square, and both sloping towards the 
outer side of the building, to manure vats, two 
feet deep and eight feet wide. 

The troughs are formed by the union of two 
boards (seven inches wide) at right angles, like 
the letter V, and extend from one end of the 
building to the other, and are so arranged as to 
receive water easily from a pump. 

The eating apartments are divided into stalls 
adapted to the number of animals, and each 
hog is confined to his separate stall in such a 
manner that his body must remain at right an- 
gles to the trough. The head of each hog is 
admitted to the trough through two upright 
bars, of suitable width, and directly below a 
board, which is scolloped out so as to fit the 
neck. This board can be easily raised by the 
hog, as it moves in a groove up and down. In 
this manner the feet of the animals are kept 
out of the trough. 

Each pig may be confined to his stall while 
eating by a sliding door, or bars behind, if he 
shows a disposition to be unruly or to interfere 
with his neighbors. 

The trough, in order to separate each one's 
portion and prevent trough-fights, is sub-divi- 
ded in a very simple manner, while the location 
of these sub-divisions, and accompanying fix- 
tures, prevent the pigs from crowding their food 
over the sides of the trough. 

This sub-division is effected by sawing out 
small pieces of wood, which should exactly fit 
the troughj at the proposed places oi division, 



and nailing these pieces to a narrow strip of 
about 3 inches wide, and of the necessary 
height, which strip is then attached to the out- 
er side of the trough by leather hinges. By 
raising this strip the divisions are all turned 
up out of the troughs ; and to prevent its being so 
raised by the snout of the hog while feeding, a 
pin can be inserted, or a slight stancheon be 
dropped perpendicular, from the upper part of 
the pen. 

The dormitory and eating apartments are 
connected by a swing door, which moves freely 
in sockets, and can be opened by the hog 
passing either way, closing again by its own 
gravity. 

If sows with small pigs are confined, a par-' 
tition should be made for the latter along the 
side of the dormitory, towards the trough, 
where they can enter by a small door, and be 
fed from the common trough with such provis- 
ions as are suited to their age and condition. 

The space of six feet wide, running the 
Whole length of the buildings should be paved* 
and a small gutter left under the troughs ; and 
in case any food is dropped, small pigs, as scav- 
engers, can be admitted to consume it, or it can 
be swept out and disposed of in some other 
Way. 

A roof covers the 16 feet, containing the 
passage and pens, which can be extended, also, 
over the vats, if it is deemed desirable, at a 
small additional expense. The inclination 
of the floor renders it easy to shove the manure 
and litter from the pens into the vats, by pass^^ 



120 ^i-IlE AMERICAN 

ing along the passage with a board fixed at 
right angles, to a handle of 7 or 8 feet in length. 

Fifty feet, in length, of the building, when 
divided, give 10 pens, 5 by 10 feet each. 
The outside of the pens are 3 1-2 feet high, and 
the roof should ascend in such a manner as to 
afford an easy passage to the feeder. 

The roof over the remaining 25 feet, is made 
still higher, to accommodate a horse- power 
boiler and cutting machine, together with a corn 
and cob crusher. The boiler is so arrang- 
ed as to steam or boil food as may be desirable. 

A structure of this kind can be easily made 
in the western country, by placing posts, with 
notches, for the outside and inner side of the 
pen. Poles placed lengthwise on these notch- 
es, are sufficient to sustain roof boards or rails, 
and, where the latter are used, water can be 
kept out by covering the spaces between the 
rails with thatch or straw ; while the floor may 
be made of logs, split and l^id down Avith the 
flat side uppermost. Straight rails, fastened 
with wooden pins to the post, answer instead of 
side boards for partitions. 

By procuring a "pin maker," (a steel plate 
with a hole sufficiently large, through which a 
small piece of wood is driven, so as to form a 
pin,) and a "bit" of corresponding size, a fence 
or partition may be made with great economy. 

We would mention here, that Mr. Ellsworth, 
for whom the above piggery is now con- 
structing, is endeavoring to collect the best 
breeds of swine in Europe and this countiy ; 
with the design of still farther improving pres- 



SWINE BREEDER. 121 

ent varieties, as well as instituting experiments 
as to different articles of food. 

In the front part of this volume, will be found 
figures, which we trust will convey suffi- 
ciently accurate information of the plan propo- 
sed. 

Fig. 1. EXHIBITS A GROUND PLAN. 

A A. Passage 50 feet long and 6 feet wide. 
B B. Eating rooms, 5 feet by 6, diWded into 

stalls. 
C C. Dormitory, 5 feet by 6. 
D D. Manure vats. 10 feet by 8, 
E E. Trough. 
F F. Slope of vat. 
G G. Steaming apparatus. 

H. Hot wat(ir or steam tube. 
I. Boiler. 

K^ Small hose fitted to pump. 

L. Pump. 

M. Horse power. 

N. Corn sheller. 

O. Straw cutter. 
P P, Paved gutter beneath troughs. 
S *S, Rear portion of pen. 

The steaming apartment is 25 feet long and 
18 broad. 

Fig. 2. SIDE ELEVATION, AS SEEN ONE SIDE 
OP THE PASSAGE. 

A A. Eating rooms, 5 feet by 6. 

B B. Dormitory, 5 feet by 6. 

C C C Rooms for steaming apparatus, <fec. 



122 THE AMERICAN 

D D D. Boards, sliding up and down, to con- 
fine the head of hogs when at the trough. 

E. Door opening from dormitory. 

F. Pump. 

Fig. 3. SECTION THROUGH X IN Fig. 1, 

A. Door to passage, 6 feet wide. 
B B. Trough. 
C C. Manure vats, 8 feet wide and 2 deep. 

The roof is 9 feet high, and there is a slope 
of 1 inch to the foot from the trough to the 
manure vats. 

Fig. 4. 

Top view of the trough, with the hing- 
ed hoard, which, when opened, forms di- 
visions in the same — and also, (E) an end view, 
with dotted lines, showing the manner in 
which the divisions fit into the trough. 

In addition to the constmction of comforta- 
ble pens, it should be constantly borne in mind, 
that much of the profit of raising hogs depends 
on regular and systematic feeding. The ani- 
mal should be supplied with stated quantities 
of food, and at regular intervals. And to no 
one who is unwilling to descend to minute 
particulars, should the management of an ex- 
tensive piggery be intrusted. Inattention to 
the precise quantity of food given, besides de- 
ranging the accuracy of experiment, creates al- 
so unnecessary waste. A few lessons will 
teach the animals to assemble in their feeding 
apartments upon a given signal, and thus econ- 
omize the time and labor of the feeder. Let 



SWINE BREEDER. 123j 

those, therefore, who are placed over establish- 
ments of this kind be instructed to feed a par- 
ticular amount at a particular time (three meals 
a day, unless for young pigs, is sufficient) and let 
the last feeding be given sufficiently early to 
leave the animals at rest after sundown. 

Experience will ultimately teach, and it may 
be by bitter lessons, the necessity of attending 
to those particulars which are generally deemed 
unimportant. On regular and systematic feed- 
ing, says one of the most judicious agricultural- 
ists of our country, * and clean and dry bed- 
ding, the success of rearing and fattening swine 
very much depends. To these, a faithful feed- 
er who has some skill and taste, and, in short, 
a little pride of vocation, is indispensable. 
Much of the fame of Ulysses of old for raising 
the best breeds of swine was to be attribxited 
to his faithful Umeus, whom he styled (dies 
subotes) his god-like swine feeder. 
*Elias Phinney, Esq. 



124 THE AMERICA!^ 



CHAPTER lY. 

On the comparative advantage of raw and prepared food fof 
swine — Interestirg researches of French chemists on this- 
.subject — The necessity of some preparation evident from 
the experiment of M. M. Biot and Ka.spail — FermentetT 
food — Bailing ai d steaming food--Resnlts of various eX' 
periments in Europe and ihis country — Cuts, ana descrip- 
tion of boiling and steam apparatus. 

Few branches of agricultural science have 
seemed to demand more investigation, or have 
been pursued, during the few past years, to a 
greater extent, than that relating to the best 
mode of preparing and administering the food 
of animals. The aid of chemistry, Avith its 
minute investigations, has been summoned to 
determine the nutritive qualities of diverse arti- 
cles employed for tlie sustenance of stock;, 
while, guided by the data thus obtained, exper- 
iment after experiment has accumulated ther 
most valuable results. It is indeed interesting, 
while examining the pages of various agricul- 
tural periodicals — those faithful chronicles, when 
well conducted, of the true condition, at given 
periods, of the science they support — to tface 
the changes which s^hort intervals are effecting 
in all farming operations ; to behold the favor- 
ite theories of past years condemned in the better 
practice of the present, and to hope, amid the 
extinction of long cherished prejudices and the 
hourly diffusion of intelligence, that agricul- 
ture, one of the most honorable pursuits of man, 



SWINE BREEDER. 126 

will rapidly attain its proper elevation. It is 
the duty, as it is the privilege of the farmer, to 
avail himself of the light thus furnished, and ad- 
vance with the age in which he lives. There 
is nothing regarding tlie pursuit which he has 
chosen too minute to be worthy of attention. 
It is the constant observation of " small mat 
ters," which the many pass as unimportant, 
and the daily endeavor to make the most of 
every article produced, that renders him a more 
judicious and successful cultivator than his 
neighbor. 

The econoni)'- of food] To consult the pa- 
ges of the periodicals to which we have allud- 
ed, one would be induced to consider the sub- 
ject as almost exhausted ; but, judging by the 
practice of their readers — those most interested 
in the matter we should naturally conclude—- 
the whole doctrine was a new one. And ^ret, 
on the economy in the preparation and distribu- 
tion of his food, is the farmer to rely for tlie 
comfort and rapid increase of his aaiimals. To 
him, the questions whether food should be giv- 
en in a natural or prepared state, simple or 
mixed, fermented or unfermented, together with 
the comparative advantage of grinding, steam- 
ing, or boiling, are points of great importance. 

That the digestion of animals is not ordina- 
rily sufficient to derive nutriment from the 
whole of the food administered, is evident from 
the fact that kernels of grain are frequently 
voided with the natural passages, so entirely un- 
changed as to be capable of subsequent germi- 
nation. So well aware are many of this fact, 



126 THE AMERICAN 

that they allow their swine to follow large droves 
of horses, to gather the unchanged grain thus 
Yoided. It is also ascertained that the power 
of digestion and assimilation acts with greater 
energy on some materials of food than others, 
and that regard is always to be paid to the na- 
ture of the substance through which the nutri- 
tive matter is diffused. Many substances con- 
taining an equal quantity of this matter, differ 
much in tlieir power of producing a rapid in- 
crease of flesh. Experiment has shown, for in- 
stance, that succulent vegetables fatten oxen 
faster than the same amount of nutriment 
would do in an equal mass of dry food. Much 
interesting information on these subjects, will 
be found in the details of accurate investigations 
as to the quantity of nutritive matter contained 
in different articles of food, in the Agricultu- 
ral Chemistry of Sir Humphrey Davy, and in 
Sinclair's treatise on the cereal grasses. 

The critical investigations of the French 
chemists, Dutrochet and Dumas, and especially 
of Raspail and M. Biot, have thrown much 
light on the subject of preparing food for ani- 
mals. The experiments of the latter prove con- 
clusively, that some preparation, in all cases, is 
lequisite to obtain the greatest quantity of nu- 
tritive matter. In the London Quarterly Jour- 
nal of Agriculture, will be found a highly inter- 
esting article, exibiting the various experiments 
of Raspail and M. Biot. It is the results of 
these experiments that we desire to place before 
our readers, and notwithstanding the great 
length of the article which contains them, we 



SWINE BREEDER. l^T 

trust our readers will find in the principles es- 
tablished an excuse for our extracting largely^ 
*' M. Raspail, from numerous experiments, con- 
cludes that each grain of fecula is an organ- 
ized globule, formed in the interior of living 
vegetable cells, such as in those of a grain of 
wheat, or of the tuber of a potato ; that the en- 
veloping membrane of the kernel is incapable 
of being dissolved in cold water, spirits of wine, 
ether, or the acids, but expands in propor- 
tion to the degree of heat, and in boiling water 
bursts on one side of the globule ; and that, 
after boiling in a large quantity of water, the 
burst and detached envelops fall to the bottom 
in the form of snow-white flakes, leaving the 
liquid above them as limpid as water." Fur- 
ther experiments induced M. Raspail to assert 
tbat the kernels in the envelop strongly resem- 
bled gum, if not identical with it, in physical 
and chemical character. At this stage of the 
inquiry, however, M. Biot, along with M. Pe- 
roz, took up the subject, and succeeded in dis- 
covering a distinct and very remarkable differ- 
ence from gum. Accordingly, on isolating the 
kernel portion of a parsnip-root, by boiling to 
burst the envelop, precipitating by alcohol, pu- 
rifying by repeated washings with alcohol, and 
then dissolving in water in order to observe in 
what manner it polarized light, it was found 
that it turned the plane of polarization with 
more energy towards the right than any sub- 
stance yet known, while all gums, and the su- 
gar of grapes, turn the planes of polarization 
towards the left. Cane sugar, indeed, turns 



128 THE AMERICAN 

the plane of polarization towards the right, but 
not witli the same energy as the kernels of 
starch. The latter, therefore, M. M. Biot and 
Peroz term dextrine. Tlie soluble portion, ac- 
cordingly, of starch, or the farinaceous matter 
of grain and roots, is dextrine, which is always 
contained in a globular envelop, composed of 
membranes that are Incapable of being dissolv- 
ed in w"ater, even when boiling. By means of 
this singular and unexpected test of turning the 
planes of polarization towards the right of the 
observer, the nutritive qualities of all vege- 
table substances can be examined, and many of 
them have been so examined by M. Biot. 
Among other vegetable productions M. Biot ex- 
amined the juice of the carrot, taken from the 
white variety by cold pressure. He divided this 
into two parts, one part being filtered through 
white paper Avithout being heated, and the 
other, after being similarly filtered, was brought, 
for an instance, to the boiling point. The re- 
sult was most important in a philosophical point 
of view; the part which had been brought to a 
boiling temperature, produced a rotation to- 
wards the right, exactly double of that Avhich 
had not been heated." 

"The liquor, continues M. Biot, treated with 
alcohol, gave a considerable precipitate, which 
was instantly re-dissolved in water, as is the case 
Avith dextrine, and this appears to explain suffi- 
ciently the sudden increase of the rotation af- 
ter boiling." It will follow that even a slight 
boiling doubles the nutritive value of carrots, a 
fact known indeed from other experiments, but 



SWINE BREEDER. 

only ill a vague manner without any philosoph- 
ical data to explain it by. 

When immersed in water at 122 degrees, the 
envelop, which is unaffected by colder water, 
expands, and in boiling water it bursts, while 
the kernel is dissolved in the water. Water, 
however, alone, as M. Raspail proved, and M. 
M. Biot and Peroz verified, will not completely 
rupture all the envelops of fecida, or at least 
extract all the dextrine unless the boiling is con- 
tinued for a long time, with considerable quan- 
tities of water ; because the unbroken globules 
of fecula are apt to be held together in clots 
by the gum-like matter disengaged from the 
broken ones, and in this manner are partly pro- 
tected from the full influence of the heat. 

The dextrine thus obtained is uniformly the 
same, being completely decomposable by heat, 
while it can be analyzed into water, hydro- 
gen, and carbonic acid gas, but no nitrogen 
has been found in it. 

In the article referred to, the size of the glob- 
ules of different grains are given. Those which 
contain the dextrine of the potato are stated as 
varying from the 4-10,000th to the 49-10,000th 
part of an inch in size, while those of the 
buckAvheat seldom appear so large as the 44- 
10 000 part of an inch. The facts derived from 
these minute experiments, and which we wish 
particularly to place before our readers are the 
following : — 

I. That the globules constituting meal, flour 
and starch, whether contained in grain or roots 



130 THE AMERICAN 

are incapable of affording any nourishment as 
animal food till they are broken. 

II. That no mechanical method of breaking 
or grinding is more than partially efficient. 

III. That the most efficient method of break- 
ing the globules is by heat, by fermentation, or 
by the chemical agency of acids or alkalies. 

lY. That the dextrine, (the nutrient part,) 
which is the kernel, as it were, of each globule 
is alone soluble, and therefore alone nutritive. 

V. That the shells of the globules, when re- 
duced to fragments by mechanism or heat, are 
insoluble, and therefore not nutritive. 

VI. That though the fragments of these 
shells are not nutritive they are indispensable to 
digestion, either from distending the stomach 
and bowels, or from some other cause not un- 
derstood, it having been proved by experiment 
that concentrated nourishment, such as cane, 
sugar, essence of beef, and osmazone, cannot 
long sustain life without some mixture of coarse 
and less nutritiv^e food. 

VII. That the economical preparation of all 
food, containing globules of fecula, consists in 
perfectly breaking the shells, and rendering the 
dextrine contained in them soluble and digesti- 
ble, while the fragments of shells are at the same 
time rendered more bulky, so as more readily to 
fill the stomach.* 

A proper distention of the stomach seems to 

facilitate its digestive powers, a fact which should 

never be forgotten by those engaged in rearing 

stock. When aliment of extremely nutritive 

* Vide Farmer's Register, vol. 5, p. 280. 



SWINE BREEDER. 1^1 

kind is employed for the purpose of procuring 
rapid increase of flesh, there should also be a 
tolerably large admixture of that food on which 
the animal naturally subsists. In the experi- 
ment made by the French physiologist Magen- 
die, we find that sugar, one of the most nutritive 
of all substances, did not possess the power al- 
luded to, and consequently failed to arouse the 
digestive energies of the stomach, and the re- 
sult of feeding a dog on Avhite sugar and water 
was, that the animal became gradually emaciated 
and finally perished. It is this principle un- 
doubtedly which explains the happy effects aris- 
ing from mixed food, where, with substances 
containing the nutritive quality in a high de- 
gree, are united those more bulky and less suit- 
able for nourishment. " An experiment has 
been m^ade in England," says a correspondent 
of the Genessee Farmer *' on the feeding of 
horses which demonstrates this fact most con- 
clusively. Some country horses were selected 
and Avhile one part of them received sugar and 
water alone, the other part had a few pounds of 
cut straw added to their portion of sugar and 
drink. Those which received the sugar alone 
fell away rapidly, while those fed with the sugar 
and straw throve as perceptibly ; and a repeti- 
tion of the experiment on another set of animals 
showed the same result. In man, the rich and 
high seasoned food, the fine flour and the fal 
meat, are to the stomach what fine wheat or 
sugar would be to the stomach of the horse. 
There is much nutriment, but little that can fa- 
ciliate digestion. The man who lives on com- 



132 THE i\MERICAN 

moil food, sound and sufficiently nutritious, is 
rarely troubled with the evils that press so heav- 
ily on him who, regardless of the law of nature, 
takes more nutriment and less substance than 
is consistent with a healthy tone of the digest- 
ive powers." 

It is a common error that " hard " or unpre- 
pared food " makes the hardest meat" — a doc- 
trine whose fallacy is shown by such experi- 
ments as those mentioned — for whatever the na- 
ture of the aliment, a similar process of diges- 
tion must be gone through, and the ultimate 
principle of nutrition — the chyle — is the same in 
all cases. In general the finer the particles of 
food administered, the easier will be the process 
of digestion, and the greater the quantity of nu- 
tritive matter furnished. It is tliose individuals 
whose digestive powers are weakened that find 
benefit from thorough mastication. In regard to 
the feeding and fattening of animals this prin- 
ciple is one of great importance, and inculcates 
the necessity of grinding or cooking the mate- 
rials given them, if our object be their own condi- 
tion or our interest. Attention to the proper ad- 
mixture and fineness of food fed out to swine 
is particularly requisite, because these animals 
if once allowed to sink into a failing condition, 
can rarely be made to regain what they have 
lost. 

Much has been said and written recently on 
the subject of giving fermented food to stock, 
and there are many who yet oppose the practice. 
The custom of the Germans in feeding their 
horses on bread that has been fermented until 



SWINE fiREfiDER. 132? 

slightly soured is generally known, and th(? 
econoni)^ of the procedure is supported by alt 
experimenters. The bread, too, in general use 
among the people of that country, is that in 
which acetous fermentation has nearly taken 
place, and is said to be more nutritive and whole- 
some than unleavened bread. And the same 
result would undoubtedly attend a similar prep- 
aration cf all farinaceous food giv^en to animals. 
The process of fermentation materially aids that 
of digestion. A correspondent of the Maine 
Farmer gives the following satisflictory expla- 
nation of the advantages to^ be derived from 
fermented swill in feeding swine. " Vegetable 
substances contain a large quantity of carbon, 
and this same substance enters also largely into 
animal materials, especially Into fats and oils 
constituting a large portion of these substances. 
It follows, therefore, that in animals, by the pro- 
cess called digestion, a portion of this carbon 
of the food is separated and assimilated or con- 
verted into chyle or blood, and from these inta 
fat, muscle, or flesh, and such like materials 
which make up the animal body. But before 
the digestive powers can do this, the food must 
undergo a change, and the carbon contained 
in it be combined with something that will ren- 
der it easily dissolved In the fluids of the body. 
Solid carbon is not dissolved in fluids. Char- 
coal which is one form of carbon, and indeed 
is nearly pure carbon, We all know is not sol- 
uble in fluids but still it may be dissolved by 
adding another substance to it. 

To go back to our first remark, that vegetable 



134 THE AMERICAN 

substances such as are used for food contain a 
large portion of carbon, not in a pure state, to 
be sure, but mingled with many other substan- 
ces which render it more or less liable to under- 
go fermentation. Now what is fermentation ? 
It is nothing more nor less than this carbon 
combining Avith the oxygen of the air or atmos- 
phere, being converted into air and escaping in 
the form of bubbles of gas as it takes its way 
up through the mass. The swill, therefore, that 
is in this state is ready to be dissolved in the 
fluids of the stomach and converted to the ani- 
mal body. If it is not fermented it Avill not di- 
gest so soon, and of course is not changed to 
fat so soon, and consequently the hog does not 
fatten so fast." 

It is rather the excess of fermentation in the 
food furnished to his stock that the farmer has to 
guard against. This process is divided into four 
stages, the saccharine, the vinous, the acetous 
and the putrefactiv^e. We have an exhibition of 
tlie first in the malting of barley, which is made 
sweet by the process ; of the second in the work- 
ing of cider and beer ; of the third in the souring 
of bread and the production of vinegar; while 
the last is manifest in the decomposition of bod- 
ies. But a short distance into the third stage, 
and never beyond it, should the fermentation of 
food designed for animals be suffered to proceed. 
'* In order " says a writer in the Farmer's Cab- 
inet * " more effectually to accomplish the ob- 
ject in preparing food for hogs, two tubs should 
be procured of such size as are adapted to 
* Vide Farmer's Cabinet, vol. 3, p. 86. 



gWlNE" BREEDER. 135 

the number to be fed, in which to prepare their 
food; these should be used to feed from alter- 
nately ; the materials in the one would be un- 
dergoing the necessary preparation while feed- 
ing from the other. The weather being gener- 
ally cool while hogs are fattening, the process 
of fermentation progresses slowly, and if it is 
very cold is entirely suspended, unless artificial 
means are resorted to keep it up. Pieces of stale 
or mouldy bread that are no longer fit for family 
use, and which find their way into the swill tub, 
are uniformly found to put the whole contents 
into a state of fermentation, if suffered to remain 
for a few hours. This has suggested the opin- 
ion that a small quantity of yeast, which is a 
cheap article, might with advantage be added to 
the contents of the tub, containing food for 
swine, in order more quickly and thoroughly to 
bring it into a complete state of fermentation and 
advance it to slight acidity before it was fed. 
This addition need not often be made, provided 
the tub is replenished with food before it is 
quite emptied of its fermented contents, and in 
this way it could be kept up during the feeding 
season. Corn or other grain that has been well 
steamed, boiled, or Avell soaked, is very suscepti- 
ble of the influence of yeast. Starch makers 
and distillers use it in order to prepare the grain 
so that they can extract their respective articles 
of manufacture from it with more facility and in 
greater quantities ; and it appears reasonable to 
suppose that the stomach of animals would have 
their labor abridged, and would be enabled to 
extract a greater quantity of nutriment from a 



13f7 THE AMERICAK 

given quantity of grain or vegetable matter thus 
prepared, than when it is fed to them in the usu- 
al way." 

The mode preferred in the estimates of Mr. 
Young for converting any kind of corn into food 
for swine, consists in grinding it into meal and 
mixing the product with water in cisterns, in the 
proportion of five bushels of meal to one hun- 
dred gallons of water; this must be well stirred 
several times in the day for a fortnight, during 
warm weather, and for three Aveeks when cold- 
er, at the expiration of-Avhich time it will have 
become fermented.* 

The practice of boiling or steaming the food 
of animals seems to possess advantages attend- 
ing few other modes of preparation — and the 
experiments of M. M. Raspail and Bit, to 
which we have alluded in the foregoing portion 
of this chapter, sufficiently explain the reason. 
We are taught, however, by the results of their 
investigation, that boiling, when resorted to, 
should be continued for a long time, and with 
considerable quantities of water, and that 
steam when employed, should be only used at 
a high temperature. Long before the research- 
es of these able chemists, another French 
philosopher, M. Reaumer, had exhibited the re- 
sults of boiling grain, while endeavoring to as- 
sign a more philosophical reason for the advan- 
tage attained by this process than the vague as- 
sertions of popular opinions. For this purpose he 
caused about 4 measures (each 11-3 pints Eng- 
lish,) of each of the six common sorts of grain 

* Vide Complete Grazier, p. 181. 



SWINE BREEDER. 137 

to be boiled until they were well burst, (v/hicli 
may be fairly taken to mean, that two thirds of 
the dextrine was set free,) and he found that 
the increase of bulk in each sort, was as fol- 
lows : — 

Four measures of oats, after being boiled to 
bursting, filled 7 measures. 

Four measures of barley, being boiled to 
bursting, filled 10 measures. 

Four measures of buck-wheat, after being 
boiled to bursting, filled 14 measures. 

Four measures of maize, after being boiled 
to bursting, filled above 13 measures. 

Four measures of wheat, after being boiled 
to bursting, filled little more than 10 meas- 
ures. 

Four measures of rye, after being boiled to 
bursting, filled nearly 15 measures. 

In order to ascertain whether the boiling 
altered the preference of poultry for any of the 
particular sorts, M. Reaumer, made numerous 
experiments, varied in almost every possible 
way. And, again, other experiments to test the 
economy of feeding with boiled grain. In re- 
gard to the first point, the result showed a rel- 
ish in general for boiled grain, though no 
permanent preference for any one sort was dis- 
covered, and again proved that there is, in 
most cases, a considerable saving by feeding 
with boiled grain. The animals selected by 
Reaumer, were poultry, possessing, as is well 
known, remarkably strong powers of digestion, 
and consequently requiring in general less prep- 
aration of their food, in order to extract its 
10 



138 THE AMERICAN 

nutritive qualities. Another important fact 
was exhibited in the course of these experi- 
ments, that some of the articles employed, 
though greatly increased in bulk by boiling, 
did not tend to the nourishment of the animals 
as much as the original quantity would have 
done in its raw state. In these cases, the food 
in its prepared state was better relished, and 
consumed to a much greater extent — thus, 
over-loading the stomach, and causing, by ex- 
cess of nutriment, the same effect as those at- 
tending the experiment of feeding horses on 
sugar and water, to which we have alluded ; 
and as in that case, so in this, a due admixture 
of less nutritive food, would probably have 
changed the whole result. We are induced to 
believe, that it is to inattention of the facts^ — 
that the power of digestion varies to a great ex- 
tent in different animals, and that some articles 
may be made to afford so much nutriment, as 
to give different results from those anticipated — 
that such various opinions are entertained of 
the economy of boiling or steaming the food of 
animals. It does not follow, that because the 
feeding of boiled food to one animal is found 
economical, that the same saving will result 
from a like course towards another, whose di- 
gestive powers are stronger. In the latter case, 
«o little perceptible assistance would be ren- 
dered to the strong digestion of the- animal, as 
to prove tl e process attended with hardly any 
saving of expense. — indeed, with a considerable 
loss. The gizzards of fowls possess sufficient 
power, as proved by the experiments of Spall- 



anzaiii, to crush oats and barley, and reduce 
glass to powder, while these former substances 
if they escape the proper bruising from the 
teeth, not unfrequently pass through the stom- 
achs of horses in an unchanged state. 

We have indulged in these remarks, be- 
cause, in the experiments made by order of 
the Highland Society of Scotland, the result 
seemed to be, that any advantage gained by ad- 
ministering boiled or steamed food to ruminat* 
ing animals, was counter-balanced by increas* 
ed expense attending the proceeding — and 
from this result an argument has occasionally 
been drawn in general, against these modes of 
preparation. The failure of a few experiment^ 
on a particular class of animals, when added 10 
the indifference or aversion which often attends 
the promulgation of new doctrines and discov- 
cries may, and sometimes does, retard the pro- 
gress of important agricultural truths. But thj| 
results attending the experiments of the High,- 
land society were, as we conceive, not as con»» 
elusive as has been supposed. A writer in th^ 
Quarterly Journal of Agriculture,* while re^ 
marking on the extreme difficulty of selecting 
catde for such experiments, thus continues :— 
" That cattle consume food something nearly iii 
proportion to their weights we have very littlf 
doubt, provided they have previously been fed 
in the same manner, and are nearly alike i]| 
condition. Age, sex, and kind, have little inila* 
ence in this respect, as the quantity of food cou^- 
sumed depends much on the length of time the 
* Vide June No., 1837. 



140 THE AMERICAN 

beast has been fed, and on the degree of matnrr- 
ty at which the animal has arrived; hence the 
great difficuUy of selecting cattle fit for experi- 
menting upon. To explain our meaning by an 
ejcample, we Avould say that two cattle of the 
same weight, and which had been previously 
'iept for a considerable time on similar food 
A^ould consume the same quant^t3^ But on the 
^ntrary should two beasts of the same weight 
tre taken, the one fat and the other lean, the lean 
beast would eat twice, or perhaps thrice, as many 
turneps as the fat one, more especially if the 
fat one had been for some time previously fed 
on the same food, as cattle eat gradually less 
food as they arrive at maturity, Avhen they be- 
come stationary in their appetite." Allowing 
now that, notwithstanding these difficulties, as 
exhibited by the above writer, (himself a dis- 
tinguished experimenter on these subjects,^) the 
animals designed to test the question were 
selected sufficiently equal to each other, there 
is still some doubt remaining as to the after 
course of treatment. Ten anim.als were select- 
ed by Mr. Walker of Ferrygate, to whom the 
■premium for experiments on horned cattle was 
adjudged, as nearly equal as possible in point o{ 
weight and feeding qualities. These animals 
.were selected from a lot that had been in full 
keeping for some time previous, and were fed 
'during the trial with food (except the addition 
of potatoes) similar to that they had used before 
the experiment. The main substance admin- 

* Vide Eobt. Stephenson Whitlaw, Haddington, Transac- 
tions of the Highland Society of Scotland, vol. 10, p. 253, 



SWINE BREEDER. 141 

istered as food was turneps, an article easily 
masticated and which needed not, to so great 
an extent, the application of the boiling or 
steaming process to develop its nutritive qual- 
ity; an article in regard to the feeding of which 
in its raw state, the writer from whom we last 
quoted remarks, " whoever feeds cattle on tur- 
neps alone will have no reason, on the score of 
profit, to regret not having employed more 
expensive auxiliaries. Now if the conclusions 
of M. Raspail and Biot are just, and if the tes- 
timony of other experimenters can he taken, the 
chief value of the boiling or steaming process is, 
that it so develops the nutritive qualities of 
food, that the same quantity, wheri thus prepared, 
goes farther, certainly as far, in the produc- 
tion of flesh as it would in a raw state ; indeed 
that a less quantity is often found more nourish- 
ing after this preparation, than a greater one 
without it. We should therefore naturally sup- 
pose that any one anxious to test the compara- 
tive advantages of steam.edand raw food, would 
confine himself to the same quantity or quality 
at ev^ery feeding, or that if there was any differ- 
ence, it should be in a lessened amount of that 
designed for steaming. But the experiments of 
Mr. Walker were not conducted on this princi- 
ple, for he says " we soon discovered that the 
cattle on the steamed food consumed consider- 
ably more turneps than those on the raw food," 
and again informs us, that the diff*erence in this 
respect was as great as 55 lbs. of turneps per day 
for each beast. 

JVow, as the cattle using the raw food did well 



142 The americajt 

and fattened easily, this difference proves one 
of two things, either that those fed on steamed 
food had too much nutriment daily, or that there 
was something in the process of steaming which 
abstracted so much of the nutritive matter, that 
the addition of 55 lbs. more each day could but 
little more than make good the loss. Mr. Walk- 
er seems to have overlooked the fact, that the 
process of steaming might render the food given 
more palatable to the animals, and thus cause 
them to take an excess of nutriment which 
would ultimately defeat the objects aimed at. 
The increased quantity of steamed food, certain- 
ly was not given from any conviction that it 
was necessary, for Mr. Walker says that an 
equal quantity was originally laid aside for all 
the animals, and that after the fattening process 
had gone on to a considerable extent, he dis- 
covered, from the decreased size of the heap, 
*' that very few turneps were left to put into the 
steam tub, Avhile little more than half of those 
laid down for the raw food was consumed.'* 
This was a "discovery" which ought to have 
been made before, or rather ought never to have 
been made. It proves that turneps were steamed 
fes fast, and to as great an extent as the cattle 
would consume them, and leads us to believe 
that the object was, as Mr. Walker expresses it, 
*' to fatten both lots of cattle and afterwards cal- 
culate the different expense." 

It is, indeed, asserted towards the conclusion 
of the report, that if less steamed food had been 
employed there would have been a great " short 
coming in the article of improvement," but suf- 



SWINE BREEDER. 



143 



ficient reasons for the statement are not given. 
The cattle fed on steamed food were probably- 
forced, and overloaded from the commencement, 
and the result proved, what might have been 
expected, that Mr. Walker could not fatten ani- 
mals economically on the too liberal quantity 
allowed them ; but it does not prove that a less 
quantity would not have been sufficient. Nor 
does it afford any ground for the assertion that 
boiled food is not economical when fed to ru- 
minating animals. The same experiment dif- 
ferently conducted, or trials as to other articles 
(corn for instance) more diffi'^ultof mastication, 
would, we have reason to believe, exhibit dif- 
ferent results. The experiment made by John 
Boswell Esq.,* with a similar number of cattle, 
though substantiating to some extent the infer- 
ence as to steamed food drawn by Mr. Walker, 
was conducted in a better manner. The food in 
this case was a mixture of red potatoes and yel- 
low turneps. Mr. Boswell states that the number 
fed on raw food eat readily from the commence- 
ment; but that the others hardly tasted the 
steamed food for several days, exhibiting a jaded 
appearance. It appears however that " in a short 
time they all seemed to relish the prepared food 
as well as the raAV, although it was a fortnight 
before they looked as full and well as the cattle 
fed on raw food; and the singular fact is men- 
tioned, that the lot on raw food invariably fin- 
ished their potatoes before one turnep was tast- 
ed, while the other invariably picked out the 
steamed turneps in preference to potatoes." 
* Vide Transactions of the Highland Society of Scotland* 



144 



THE AMERICAN 



The experiment of Mr. Boswell, however, in 
respect to quantity of food consumed, differed 
from that of Mr. Walker, for we find that" both 
lots kept nearly alike, the only difference being 
that the lot on raw food consumed much more 
food than those on steamed." We should be 
gratified to see experiments of this nature con- 
ducted on the same method as that pursued by 
Mattheiw de Bombasles, and published in a work 
seldom met with in this country, entitled the 
" Anals de Roville." Says a writer in a for- 
eign publication: — "The experiments usually 
made on this subject have been conducted upon 
the principle of continuing one species of food, 
such as hay or carrots, for a given time ; but M. 
de Bombasles, reflecting that it is neither natu- 
ral nor agreeable to any animal to be confined 
for a length of time to the same species of food, 
adopted a different method. He separated into 
several groups the cattle on which he designed 
to experiment, and brought those in each group 
as nearly as possible to a given weight, by feed- 
ing them Avith an exactly weighed proportion 
of common articles of food, diversified to suit 
their taste. When he had proceeded so far, he 
then began to take away from their diversified 
food a known proportion of one of them such as 
lucerne hay (lazerne seche) replacing it by some 
sort of mot, such as carrots, gradually increas- 
ed or diminished, so that each individual in the 
group came up and sustained the weight it had 
stood at before tlie change. The comparison of 
the qualities thus ascertained by trial to be 
equivalentj gave the practical proportions of 



SWINE BREEDER. 145 

their nutritive properties, under the conditions 
thus associated. 

"These resuhs thus obtained by M. De Bombas- 
les, by trials with sheep, appeared to place carrots 
very far below the rank usually assigned them 
as food for sheep, by farmers on the continent, 
and even as food for horses when substituted 
for grain. But it is important to remark that 
M. De Bombasles gave the carrots in a raw 
state to his sheep, and consequently from their 
stomachs being unable in the process of diges- 
tion to cause the globules in the carrot contain- 
ing the dextrine to burst, they derived little nu- 
tritnent from a substance which is undoubtedly 
very nutritive when the dextrine is developed 
by boiling. The inteUigent farmers in Belgium, 
who seem to be almost a century before other 
parts of Europe in improvement, never, it is said, 
give any roots to their live stock without boil- 
ing." 

But whatever may have been the facts regard- 
ing cattle, the experiments of the Highland So- 
ciety on pigs, exhibit more cheering results. 
We put up to feed, says Mr. Walker, on the 4th 
March, 1833, five pigs on steamed potatoes with 
an allowance of 2^ pounds of broken barley, each 
lot of the barley being steamed along with the 
potatoes. They were allowed the same quan- 
tity of potatoes, but from the circumstances of 
their being put up only two year old from the 
same brood, we were not able to keep so accu- 
rate an account of the quantity of potatoes con- 
sumed, because as they increased in size they 



146 



THE AMERICAN 



ate more potatoes. The following table will 
exhibit the improvement in pounds weight, 

1833. Weight in lbs. 

March 4. Live weight of five pigs on raw ) .. ^.-;v 
food, - . . j 

Ditto of 5 ditto steamed food, 106 



Difference in favor of raw food, 2 

19. Live weight of five pigs on ^ -.^^ 
steamed food, - - 3 

Ditto of 5 ditto on raw food, 111 



Diiference in favor of steamed food, 3 
30. Li \^e weight of five pigs on 7 ^07 
steamed food, - - y 

Ditto of five ditto on raw food, 123^ 

Diflference in favor of steamed 7 1 qi 

food, - . - y 1-^2 

May 1. Live weight of five pigs on 7 o^q 

steamed food, - - 3 

Ditto of 5 ditto on raw food, 220 



Difference in favor of steamed food, 30 
June 1. Live weight of five pigs on \ qtq 
steamed food, - - 3 

Ditto of 5 ditto on raw food, 223 



Total difierence in favor of 7 aj 
steamed food, - - y 

In three months the pigs on steamed food 
had increased 137 lbs., being 47 lbs. more than 
double ; while those on raw food had only in- 
creased 115 lbs., being 7 lbs. more than double 
their first weight ; so that there can be very lit- 



SWINE BREEDER. 147 

tie doubt that steamed food is more profitable 
for feeding hogs than raw food.* 

Similar results attended the experiments of 
Mr. Boswell on these animals. " Being anx- 
ious that there should be no interference as to 
food, or any other circumstances, he preferred 
condur,ting this experiment apart from the oth- 
er, and tlierefore on the 1st December, 1832, 
caused his overseer at Balmuto to put up ten 
pigs, all of one litter, in two lots, which by a lit- 
tle management he succeeded in getting exactly 
of the same weight, the lot to be put on raw 
food being 5 cwt. 2 qrs. 22 lbs. — the lot to be 
put on prepared food also 5 cwt. 2 qrs. 22 lbs. 
The food employed was sound red potatoes and 
the best oat meal. Those on raw food had the 
oatmeal given them in the shape of'crowdy" 
i. e. the oatmeal mixed up with a little cold 
water. The lot on prepared food had the pota- 
toes boiled and the oatmeal made into common 
water porridge. From the very first, it was 
clear that the lot on prepared food were fast 
beating the others, and an increased quantity 
of oatmeal was given to the lot on raw, in order 
to make them ready for sale along with the oth- 
ers; yet still they were greatly deficient on the 
1st of March, at which time, the experiment be- 
ing concluded, they were put on prepared food, 
when they began instantly to make up the "lee 
way." 

The five pigs put on boiled food weighed at 
the commencement, on the 1st December, 5 
cwt. 2 qrs. 22 lbs., and at its termination on the 

* Vide Transactions of the Highland Society of Scotland, 
vol. 10, p. 279. 



148 THE AMERICAN 

1st March, 10 cwt. 1 qrs. 1 lb., while the five fed 
on raw food, weighed at these different periods, 
5 cwt. 2 qrs. 22 lbs., and 8 cwt. 1 qr. 15 lbs., 
being a very decided difference in favor of those 
fed on prepared food.* 

The advantage of feeding hogs on prepared 
food is also apparent from the report of W. Dud- 
geon, Esq., undertaken (as were the two former,) 
at the request of the Highland Society. The 
report and accompanying tables are of consid- 
erable length. 

Mr. Dudgeon states, that he was well situated 
as to ventilating the apartments of the animals, 
that he allowed them " plenty of room, and 
separate divisions for feeding and exercise, as 
well as a place for repose after receiving their 
several quantums." These circumstances he 
considers of consequence in feeding these 
animals, for when kept dry, clean, and airy, 
they thrive and feel well on comparatively little 
food, as is exhibited by their respective weight, 
taken at different times. All tlie pigs were re- 
peatedly washed with soap and water, which 
refreshed them greatly, and caused them to rel- 
ish their food. 

Examinations as to the condition of the ani- 
mals was made every eight or ten days by Mr. 
Dudgeon, from July 2 to October 2. and his con- 
clusion was that the lot fed exclusively on boil- 
ed meat, throve throughout in a superior manner 
to the others, even those who had an occasion- 
al mixture of raw and boiled meat, thus proving 

* Vide Transactions Highlanu Society, &c. vol. 10, 
page 271. 



SWlNE BREEDER. 149 

that boiled tiieat is at all times more hutritive 
than the raw.* 

Several extremely interesting experiments of 
this nature have been made in this country, by 
the Rev. H. Colman of Massachusetts, a gen- 
tleman to whom the science of Agriculture is 
indebted for many valuable contributions. 

It is the general custom of our fanners, what- 
ever may have been the articles employed ill 
raising hogs, to finish the fattening process with 
corn, and the question which Mr. Colman solv- 
ed in his experiments was, in what mode this 
food can be most profitably given. The result 
will be found in the Transactions of the Essex 
Agricultmal Society, for 1835. 

EXPERIMENT I. 

Two hogs one year old, one of them a bar-- 
row in a very good condition, the other a bar^ 
row recently gelded and in ordinary condition, 
were put up to be fed exclusively upon Indian 
hasty-pudding, or Indian meal boiled with Ava- 
ter. We began feeding the first of March, 1 831 , 
and weighed them again on the 19th of the 
same month. In the eighteen days they 
consumed six bushels of Indian meal. They 
were offered cold water to drink but did not in- 
cline to take any. The result — 

No. 1 weighed on the 1st March, 233 lbs. 
Do. do. do. 19th do. 269 " 

Gain, - - - ~~36 " 

* Vide Transactions of the Highland Society of Scotland, 
vol. 10, p: 178. 



150 THE AMERICAN 

No. 2, recently gelded, weighed on the 1st 
of March, - - - 190 lbs. 

Do. do. 19th March, 247 " 

Gain, - . - . "57" " 

The gain of the two Was 93 pounds in 18 
days. The quantity of meal consumed by them 
was 10 quarts per day to the two. This allows 30 
qts. to a bushel, deducting two for grinding. 
The price of corn at this time was 70 cents per 
bushel. The expense of the increased weight 
is 4.5 cents per pound. 

March 21, 1831, killed the hog mentioned first 
hi the foregoing experiment. Live weight, 273 
lbs. Weight when dressed, 215 lbs. Loss in 
offal, loose fat included, 59 lbs., or little more 
than one fifth. 

EXPERIMENT II. 

No. 2, mentioned in the above, weighed on 
the 23d March, - . . . -^.53 lbs. 
Do. 30th April, - ^ 312 " 

Gain in 38 days, - - 59 " 

No. 3. a shoat purchased from a drove, weigh- 
ed on 28th March, - - 100 lbs. 
Do. 30th April, - - 151 " 

Gain in 33 days, - - ~~51 "■ 

This is a fraction over 1 lb. 8 oz. per day, 
each, nearly 1 lb. 9 oz. 

In this case their food was exclusively boil- 
ed potatoes mashed with Indian meal. Exact 
amount consumed not ascertained, but fed as 
freely as they would bear. 



SWINE BREEDER. 



161 



EXPERIMENT III. 



The two last named hogs, were, for the next 
twenty days, put upon Indian hasty-pudding 
exclusively, with the following result : — 

No. 2, weighed on the 30th April, 312 lbs. 



Do. 



do. 20th May, 



Gain, in 20 days. 

No. 3, weighed on 30th April, 
Do. do. 20th May, 



382 " 

"To " 

151 lbs. 

185 " 



Gain in 20 days, ^ 34 " 

The two, in the above named 20 days, con- 
simied four and one half bushels of meal cook- 
ed as above. Meal, 78 cents per bushel. Gain 
of the two 104 lbs. in 20 days. 

EXPERIMENT IV. 

Sundry swine purchased from a drove, and 
fed with meal and potatoes washed and mashed. 

97 lbs. 
105 " 



No. 1, weighed 2Sth March, 
Do. do. 19th May, 

Gain, in 52 days. 

No. 2 weighed 28th March, 
Do. do. 19th May, 

Gain in 52 days, 

No. 3, weighed 28th March, 
Do. do. 19th May, - 



68 

134 

186 

Is 

100 
186 

"~86 



Gain in 52 days. 
The two following raised on the farm a 
fed as above — 



152 THE AMERICAN 

No. 4, weighed 25th April, - 151 lh& 

Do. do. 19th May, - 205 " 

Gain in 24 days, - 55 " 

No. 5, weighed 25th April, - 140 '' 

Do. do. 19th May, - 165 " 



Gain in 24 days, ^ ^ 26 " 

EXPERIMENT V. 

In this case it was not intended to force their 
thrift, but to keep the swine in an improving 
condition. They were shoats of the last au- 
tumn and were of a good breed. 

Tuesday, 3d April, 1833, put up four shoats 
and began feeding them with Indian hasty- 
pudding. 
April 3d, April 22d, gain, June 25th, gain, 
No. 1,176 lbs. 202 lbs. 25 264 lbs. 62 
No. 2, 119 " 153 " 34 226 " T3 
No. 3, 150" 170 '^ 20 218 "' 48 



Total, 183 
No. 4, 121 145 24, killed 20th May. 

From the 3d April to 22d April, the above 
swine consumed seven bushels and one peck of 
Indian meal. From 22d April to 25th of June, 
seven bushels of Indian meal cooked as above. 

One of the above. No. 4 was killed on the 
20th May; being absent, the live weight was not 
ascertained. 

On the 25th June, the three remaining hogs 
were weighed, and in the 63 days from 22d April 



8WiNE BREEDER. 153 

lo 25th June, they had gained in that time 183 
lbs. as above. 

After 30th of May, when one of them was 
killed, one peck of meal, made into hasty- 
pudding, with a small allowance of the waste of 
the kitchen, for a part of that time, lasted them 
three days, that is, 22, 25 or less than a quarts 
say 7-8ths of a quart, per day, to each. 

At first we employed half a bushel of Indian 
meal to make a kettle of hasty-pudding, but we 
soon found that a peck of meal, by being boiled 
sufficiently, would make the kettle nearly full 
of hasty-pudding and of sufficient consistencyv 
The kettle was a common sized five-pail kettle, 
set in brick work in the house ; and it was re- 
markable that the peck of meal produced near- 
ly the same quantity of pudding that we obtain- 
ed from the half bushel, which shows the im- 
portance of inducing the meal to take up all the 
water it could be made to absorb. 

The price of Indian meal was at that time 
75 cents per bushel, 30 quarts to the bushel, 
deducting toll. The amount of meal consum- 
ed in the whole time, from 3d of April to 25th 
of June, was 14 1-4 bushels, the cost $10 69. 
The total gain, making no allowance for No, 
4 from 22d April to 30th May, which was not 
ascertained, was 287 lbs. 

The gain of Nos. 1, 2, and 3, from 22d April 
to 25th of June, was 183 lbs. in 63 days ; and 
allowing one peck to serve the three hogs for 
three days, required 5 1-4 bushels, the cost of 
which was $3 94. The live weight could not 
be estimated at less than 4 cents per lb. when 
11 



154 THE AMERICAN 

pork was at market 6 cents. The value of" the 
183 lbs., therefore, was equal to ^7 32, of, at 6 
cents, to $9 15. 

The gain of the swine for the first 19 days, 
from 3d to 22d April, was 



No. 1, 


26 lbs. 


or 


1.368 per day. 


2, 


34 '' 


11 


1.789 " 


3, 


20 '' 


a 


1.052 " 


4, 


24 " 


a 


1,263 " 


The gain 


from 22d 


April 


to 25th June, 63 


days, was 








No. 1, 


62 lbs. 


or 


0,984 per day. 


2, 


73 " 


(( 


1,158 " 


3, 


48 " 


a 


0,761 " 



The difference of daily gain in the two periods 
was attributable to the diminished quantity of 
meal. The question then arises whether the 
first mode of feeding was as e{X)nomical as the 
second. 

In the first 19 days, 7 bushels, 1 peck con- 
sumed, gave - - 104 lbs. gain. 

In the next 63 days, 7 bushels, 1 peck con- 
sinned, gave - - 18^ lbs. gain. 

Had the first gain been in proportion to the 
second in reference to the meal consumed, the 
seven and one fourth bushels, which gave 104 
lbs., should have given 252 5- 7th pounds. 
This great disparity can be explained only in 
the more economical preparation of the meal, by 
whicli a peck, taking up as much water as it 
would contain, gave a kettle nearly hll of pud- 
ding, when half a bushel of meal imperfectly 
repared gave little more. 

This seems to demonstrate the great adran- 
tage of cooked food, both as it respects its in* 



SWINK BREEDER. 155 

tjreased bulk and the improvement of its nutri- 
tive properties. 

In an experiment recently made of giving 
swine raw meal mixed with water, I have found 
a falling off in their gain nearly one half, 
compared with giving the food cooked; such as 
boiled potatoes and carrots mixed with meal 
while hot. The result being in a sty contain* 
ing a number of swine as 279 to 500. 

" By experiments," says a writer in the New 
England Farmer, " which have been accurately 
made in Pennsylvania on Indian corn and pota- 
toes for fattening swine, it was fcund that they 
increased in weight one third faster on the 
boiled than on the unboiled food ; in other 
words, they gained three pounds when fed on 
the former where they only gained two pounds 
Vhen fed on the latter. We are fully of opin- 
ion that steam-boiling for feeding or fattening 
all sorts of cattle, generally increases the value 
of the food as much as forty or fifty per cent." 

A contributor to a highly valuabxC work* 
remarks, " The superiority of the method of fat- 
tening cattle with food thus prepared, (boiled or 
steamed,) has been proved by m.any experiments; 
and it is even said that some Post Masters on the 
western road, having in pursuance of a suggest- 
ion of the Bath Agricultural Society, boiled oats 
for their horses, and given them the Wash to 
drink, have ascertained that a bushel given in 
this manner will maintain a horse in a better 
condition than two in the common way. So 
broad an asseition," adds the author, " may be 

* Mechanic's Magazine, October, 1831. 



156 TME AMERICAN 

received with hesitation ; yet the experiment 
may be worth a trial ; and if tried with candor on 
oats mixed with a certain quantity of dry food, 
there can be httle doubt that steaming a portion 
of the provender, whether mixed with roots or 
not, will be found an economical plan. 

'' In compliance," says a writer,* with the sug- 
gestions made in the Cabinet, several farmers 
have procured and put up large boilers for the 
purpose of cooking corn and other grain, for 
stock, and so far as the trial has been made it 
answers expectation fully. In one case two 
bushels of the hard Button corn were subjected 
to the operation of cooking several hours until 
they were fully expanded ; they were then meas- 
ured accurately and found to have increased in 
bulk to five bushels and half a peck. 

Again, a correspondent of the Farmer's Reg- 
ister, under date of February, 1839, thus writes :* 
" I have been using the root steamer describ- 
ed in the Cultivator of January 1838, for the 
last twelve months, and am so well pleased 
with it that I cannot refrain from adding my tes- 
timony in its favor, and recommending it to my 
brother fanners. Mine was made by directions 
given in the Cultivator and has fully answered 
my expectations. My method of using it this 
winter, when, from the dry summer and fall we 
had S.0 few vegetables, has been as follows. 
When fattening my hogs, all the com they con- 
sumed was steamed until it became perfectly 
soft upon the ear, which of course saved the 
trouble of shelling and the toll of grinding. Up- 

» Vide Farmer's Cabinet, vol. 3, p. 109. f Vol. 7, p. 15. 



SWINE BREEDER, 157 

on this food almost exclusively, with the addi- 
tion of a few vegetables which we could spare 
from the garden steamed wkh the corn, I fat- 
tened my hogs, and never had as fat hogs be- 
fore or as cheap pork. The corn in steaming 
increases nearly double in quantity, and I think 
a saving of at least one third may be calculated 
on. After my hogs were killed we began to 
steam for beeves, milch cows, hogs and horses. 
My plan is to put a sufficient quantity of shatter- 
ed corn for my hogs in the bottom of the boiler, 
then ears of corn for my horses, short corn, cot- 
ton seed, vegetables, (fee, for my cows and 
beeves, and then fill up with stalks and any 
other coarse provender, for oxen. The stalks, 
from steaming, became very soft, and are greedi- 
ly eaten by cows and steers. The shattered 
corn, together with the liquor in the bottom of 
the boiler, 1 found excellent food for sows with 
young pigs. Some farmers will say this steam- 
ing is too troublesome ; but I assure all such 
they will be amply paid for all trouble, and the 
small expense attending it. The consumption 
of wood is very inconsiderable, and, with the 
attention of a small boy, I am able to save one 
third of my provender, increase my milk and 
butter, and keep my horses, oxen and hogs in 
good order. We use the boiler and steamer also 
to heat water to kill hogs, and for other purposes. 
Mine holds above thirty-five gallons." 

The experiments of Mr. Colman, especially 
the one exhibiting the almost similar quantity 
of nutritive matter, obtained from a half bushel 
and a peck of Indian meal, furnishes strong 



158 THE AMERICAN 

proof of the principles laid doAvn by M. Ras- 
pail arid M. Biot, that the boiling process 
should be continued for a long time, and with 
as much Avater as the article of food can pos- 
sibly be made to absorb, in order that the clots 
of gum-like matter, which are disengaged 
from the broken globules containing the dex- 
trine, may not cause those unbroken to adhere 
together '; this prevents the free access of the 
water to any portion of the grain. And in con- 
nection with this principle, there is another 
which should be continually borne in mind ; 
that grain of any kind cannot be well dressed 
or cooked by dry steam of low pressure applied 
to the dry grain. If the steam is at a low pres- 
sure or a little above atmospheric, a species of 
parching is produced in the grain so heated, 
and if steam of very light pressure is applied, 
the grain will be entirely carbonized. It is 
recommended, therefore, to soak the grain in 
water for a period of from six to twelve hours 
according to its state of dryness and then place 
it in the steaming apparatus for an hour, when 
the grain will be completely boiled. * 

As to the relative advantages of steaming and 
boiling considerable diversity of sentiment pre- 
vails. Says that lamented ard distinguished ag- 
riculturist. Judge Buel,t while remarking on 
this subject: 

" The relative advantages of steaming and 
boiling will very much depend, we suspect, on 
the extent of the establishment. We have tried 

* Vide Edinburgh Quarterly Journal of Agriculture. 
t Vide Cultivatorj vol. 2, p. 98. 



SWlNE BREEDER. 159 

both, though our steamer Avas imperfect; and 
have come to the conclusion, that when the 
number of hogs to be supphed does not exceed 

15 or 20, boiling is preferable, — as with a good 
boiler, of the capacity of 30 gallons, from 12 to 

16 barrels of food may be easily cooked in a day. 
But much depends on the judicious setting of 
the boiler, so that it may receive the whole ad- 
vantage of the fire. For this purpose the brick 
Vork should be made to conform to the shape 
of the kettle, leaving a space of three or four 
inches between them, until it reaches nearly the 
top of the kettle, when a tier of brick set edge- 
wise is projected for the flange of the boiler to 
rest upon ; and the bottom of the lire-flue should 
be above the bottom of the kettle, or about par- 
allel with the commencement of the slope which 
rounds its bottom. By this means, a flame is 
thrown upon the sides and bottom,'and in such a 
manner that the whole boiler is covered with 
it on its passage to the smoke-flue ; and the 
brick work being heated constantly, refracts 
back its heat upon the boiler. A tiglit cover 
should be laid over tlie cooking food, to prevent 
the free escape of the steam, by partially con- 
fining which, the cooking process is greatly fa- 
C'litated." 

We are aware that many farmers are deterred 
from making experiments of the kind alluded 
to, by ignorance of the mode of constructing 
and supposed expense attending the erection of 
suitable steaming or boiling apparatus. Suppo- 
sitions of this kind are entirely erroneous; and 
in order to afl*ord our readers ample information 



160 THE AMERICAN 

as to these particulars, we give, in a few follow- 
ing pages, statements from those who have test- 
ed the economy of such contrivances, together 
with plates of those steamers or boilers most gen • 
erally used. Says a Avriter in the Farmer's As- 
sistant " a steam boiler is commonly made by 
setting a kettle holding twelve gallons or more 
in a furnace of brick or stone, and over this a 
hogshead with one head taken out and the oth- 
er bored full of holes, is set so close that the 
steam of the food, when boiUng, can only rise 
through the holes and thence ascend among the 
articles to be boiled in the hogshead and pass 
off at the top. In this way a hogshead full of 
potatoes will be nearly as soon boiled as a small 
part of them only could have been if placed in 
the kettle underneath." 

" As the kettle must be so closed as to prevent 
any steam passing off but through the bottom 
of the hogshead or vat, a pipe or tube must be 
set in one side, through Avhich, with the aid of 
a tunnel, the water is to be poured into the ket- 
tle as often as occasion may require — when 
poured in the tube is to be stopped with a plug 
for the purpose." When grain is steamed-boiled 
it is requisite to have the bottom of the hogs- 
head covered with a cloth, to prevent the grain 
running down through the holes. A corres- 
pondent of the Farmer's Cabinet * remarks " a 
cask perforated with holes in the bottom, may be 
placed on the top of the boiler and filled with 
pumpkins or potatoes, and the steaming of them 
may go on at the same time that corn, buck- 
* Vol. 3, p. 109. 



SWINE BREEDER. 161 

wheat, or oats, are cooking in the boiler below. 
One farmer has adopted the plan of breaking 
the ears of corn into pieces three or four inches 
long, and then boiling or cooking them without 
shelling, and in that way feeding corn and cob 
together ; his success so far in feeding some fat- 
tening cattle has been very satisfactory and en- 
couraging."" 

" In order to enonomise fuel, and procure the 
full effect of the heat, it is very important to 
have a grate under the fire, with a door to shut 
close when the fire is put in, so that the air to 
supply the fire may pass in under the grate on- 
ly ; for where a fire is supplied with air which 
passes between it and the boiler, it is constant- 
ly carrying the heat up the flue and tends to 
keep the boiler colder than it ought to be from 
the quantity of fuel consumed ; but when the 
air has to pass through the fire from below, it is 
thoroughly heated before it comes in contact 
with the boiler. After the fire has burnt down 
so as not to need ventilation for the smoke, the 
flue or pipe should be closed above, and the ac- 
cess of air under the grate prevented by a suita- 
ble stopper or door ; this prevents the circulation 
of cold air from conveying ofl" the heat from the 
brick work and boiler, and the process of cook- 
ing will be carried on for hours after the fire 
has burnt down, provided the access of cold air 
is prevented. The fire place should not be 
made larger than that of a small stove, and the 
brick work should be brought pretty well up to 
the boiler, leaving but a small space around it 
for the smoke to pass up. A boiler of the kind 



162 THE AMERICAN 

referred to is of good Vcdiie to a farmer for other 
purposes than cooking grain, and one of them 
ought to be put up on every farm in the coun- 
try, and to be considered as much a fixture as a 
corn crib or a pig pen ! " 

The following contrivance, and the reasons 
which induced the author to construct it will be 
found in the same volume of the periodical last 
quoted.* " Having previously persuaded my- 
self that stall feeding on raw grain by under- 
going a mere partial digestion was an ' uphill 
business,' I found also the idea of steaming grain 
whole liable to many objections; among others 
the difficulty of steaming it thoroughly, the in- 
convenience and additional expense of fuel aris- 
ing from the high temperature necessary to burst 
the globules containing the dextrine or nutrient 
matter of the grain are all worthy of notice. 
And the plan of scalding the chopped grain falls 
far short of cooking. Aware of the aptitude of 
all kinds of stock to fatten on the swill of distill- 
ed grain, I conceived the plan of boiling the 
grain after being chopped, to be fed sweet and 
fresh; conjecturing that a given quantity of the 
grain thus prepared would be converted into the 
greatest possible weight of flesh. I named the 
project to some intelligent persons, who con- 
demned it as fallacious and chimerical, alledg- 
ing that the chopped grain would settle to the 
bottom and burn the still; the boiled grain 
would scour the stock, <fcc. ; reason and philos- 
ophy, however, supported a contrary opinion. 

* Page 355, 



SWINE BREEDER. 163 

^'1 accordingly procured a large hogshead still, 
put it up over a furnace in the corner of an out 
Idtchen, on the best plan of close flues carried 
around the still, and finally turned into a chim- 
ney. The still was provided with the usual 
copper chains and fixtures for stirring; a mov- 
able cover made of plank was fitted close over 
the top of the still, perforated in the centre to 
admit the perpendicular shaft, on which a hori-. 
zontal crank was fixed to turn the shaft and 
stir the still. The still is filled, or nearly so, 
with water by a convenient pump, and after 
boiling, the corn being previously wet in a 
barrel with cold water, and mixed to prevent 
the grain from forming lumps, is emptied by 
buckets into the still; the cover is immediately 
put on, and by means of the crank the still is 
well stirred, and the fire kept up, while the 
stirring is occasionally repeated for a few min- 
utes, until the whole mass boils ; then the fire 
is put out or covered, or the damper closed to 
stop the draught. After the grain has boiled 
about an hour it is ready to leave off". If left in 
the still, owing to the confined rarified air, it 
will continue boiling for many hours, although 
the fire be entirely out. The sAvill is conduct- 
ed hot from the cask of the still by common 
square spouts, about thirty yards, into a hogpen 
and cattle yard ; when cool it may be compared 
to jelly or starch, the water being apparently 
commuted into solid nutriment. 

" I usually boil in the proportion of one bushel 
of grain to forty gallons of water. For fattening 
I have found one third of corn to two thirds of 



164 THE AMERICAN 

bran sufficient; but if the fattening process is to 
be hastened, the proportion is reversed — taking 
two thirds corn and one third oats or bran. By 
this method cattle and hogs are fattened in half 
the time required on raw grain, with an econo- 
my of grain infinitely great.'' 

A method of removing large articles from ket- 
tles used as boilers, is suggested by a corres- 
pondent of the Cultivator.* " Having found it 
troublesome," he remarks, " to boil potatoes for 
my stock in a potash kettle, and to get them 
out of the water when cooked, I had a thing 
made that has very much lessened the difficul- 
ty. It is a square wooden basket, about 24 
inches at top, 20 inches at bottom, and 17 
inches deep ; frame of oak, 2 by 1^ inches, 
with oak slats of 1 inch and same distance 
apart, to fill sides and bottom ; two of the top 
rails, projecting at each end, made longer than 
the diameter of the k^^ttle, serving as handles to 
lift the basket, and as a rest on the brim of the 
kettle for the purpose of keeping the potatoes 
above the water in it. I first put the potatoes 
into the basket, and by throwing upon them a 
few pailsfuU of water, while a person at each 
end lifts and shakes them, most of the dirt is 
washed out ; I then set the basket in the kettle, 
with only water enough to reach the bottom of 
the basket ; throw a piece of old carpet over the 
basket to keep in the steam; make a brisk fire, 
and the potatoes are soon fit — to put on a 
table." 

A very simple and economical contrivance for 
* Vide vo). 2, p. 137. 



gWINfi fitlEEDfiR. 165 

boiling food, is represented in the following cut* 
___g It is simply a cast iron 

1^ pipe, about five inches in 

ps diameter and six feet in 

^ length, closed at one end 

chj^^mw ^^^ open at the other. 
pfp^^py It is fixed in the fire-place 
[jjrig^^p of the kitchen, by placing 
f^^ pP^"^^^^^] it across the fire-place, next 
^m — P =^ P ^^ th^ back, on the hearth, 
■I L " rMsms^m ^^sask^ and the open end of the 
pipe extends through the jamb of the chimney 
about six or eight inches, and passes into a tub 
or trough, which has a circular hole cut into it 
near the bottom for the reception of the pipe 
which is prevented from leaking, by being 
caulked around with tow. By putting wa- 
ter into the tub with corn, or whatever kind 
of food you wish boiled, and making a fire in 
the kitchen (which is usually done in the coun- 
try three times during the day) the pipe be- 
comes very hot and causes the food to be boil- 
ed very done.* 



Mr. Loomis, the inventor of this valuable 
steaming apparatus, writes as follows.t " Any 
farmef who begins work in the morning, who 
canborrow and auger and Use it, may provide 
himself with a good steaming apparatus in one 
day. We had one in use two or three years, 
such as 1 shall attempt to describe. 

* Vide Cultivator, vol. 6. f Vide Cultivator, vol. 4, p. 116, 



166 



THE AMERICAJ^ 




A, furnace door. B, boiler. C, steam-bo3f» 
E, end slide. D, false bottom, with holes in. 

Every farmer has an iron kettle, commonly 
called the great kettle, which will answer very 
\vell for a boiler. Let such a one be properly 
set in an arch ; fit a cover of inch boards with- 
in the rim, and lute it with clay to make it 
tight. A piece, six or eight inches wide, should 
be nailed across the cover, to keep it from bein^ 
warped. Make a hole in the centre of the cover, 
large enough to receive a tube of two inches 
calibre, to convey the steam. Another hole 
two inches in diameter is to be made near one 
side of the cover, through which the boiler is 
supplied with water, and is stopped with a plug. 
Make a box for potatoes, (fee, three feet long, 



SWINE BREEDER. IBf 

sixteen inches wide, and two feet high. This 
is set over the boiler, resting upon the arch \ 
the bottom of which should not be more than 
four or five inches above the cover of the 
boiler. The hole in the bottom of the box, to 
receive the tube from the boiler, is made near 
to one side of it, the box covering but little 
more than one half the boiler, leaving a conve- 
nient space to fill it through the plug-hole. The 
tube should project half an inch through the 
bottom, to prevent the drippings of the potatoes 
running into the boiler. The position of the 
box should be a little inclined ; the lower end 
projecting beyond the arch for the convenience 
of taking out the potatoes when cooked. This 
end of the box is made with a slide to draw up- 
wards when the cover is taken off. There is 
also a closely perforated bottom within the box, 
placed an inch and a half above the first, that 
the steam may be equally diffused throughout 
the mass. The end of the perforated bottom 
next to the open end of the box, is fastened to 
a round stick passing through the box from side 
to side, and serves as a hinge to this bottom. 
On the other end of the perforated bottom, let a 
board of the same width be fixed, that shall rise 
near to the top of the box, having a hole in it 
to insert a hook for the convenience of raising 
it when it is to be emptied, if it be required to 
do so while the potatoes are steaming hot. 
Thus the box may be readily emptied of its 
contents without stopping up tfie holes in the 
bottom, as would be unavoidably done with a 
hoe or shovel. The cover of the box should 
be secured from being warped. 



168 T*HE AMERICAN 

Should it be required to steam oil a larger 
scale than this, two such kettles may be used 
in an arch, and the steam from both conveyed 
into a box of greater dimensions. 

This method of placing the potatoes, or the 
food to be cooked, very near the boiler, is man- 
ifestly mote economical than that by which the 
steam is conveyed the distance of several feet 
in a metallic pipe ; as in the latter case, a con- 
siderable portion of heat is evidently lost before 
it reaches its destination. 

Says another writer* while remarking on 
this contrivance, we would recommend the 
additional improvement of a tube, put through 
the cover of the boiler, with from one to two 
feet of it above the cover, and extended down 
as low in the boiler as will be safe to suffer the 
water to be boiled without injuring the boiler ; 
which tube will emit steam whenever the wa- 
ter gets below the end of it, and therefore give 
warning that the boiler needs replenishing with 
water. This tube will also answer for a con- 
ductor, through which the Water may be con- 
veyed into the boiler, \vith a faucet extended 
directly over the end of the tube, and guaged so 
as to admit the water down the tube about as 
fast as it boils away. We would also recom- 
mend the addition of a faucet put through the 
cover of the boiler, for the purpose of throwing 
off the water, when the boiler happens to get 
filled too full. The cover of the boiler may be 
fitted so as not to leak steam, by nailing two ot 
three strips of cloth around its edge. 
* Vide Cultivator, vol. 4, p. 149. 



SWINE BREEDER. 



169 



The above named tube may be of any con- 
venient bore, from half an inch upwards, and 
should reiTiain open at both ends. It answers 
the double purpose of safety-valve and feeding 
tube. Upon this plan, a boiler that will hold 
one pailfull, will steam several bushels at a 
time ; and as quick as the same quantity can 
be boiled in a large kettle. 

The steam pipe may be placed at one side of 
the cover of the boiler, and answer equally as 
good a purpose as though it were at the centre ; 
but in no instance should the steam pipe be 
permitted to extend below the under side of the 
cover. 

A very convenient steaming apparatus, on a 




somewhat more extensive scale, is mentioned 
by Mr. Low, in his Elements of Practical Ag- 
1% 



170 THE AMERICAN 

riculture,* and has been copied to a considerable 
extent in many of our agricultural periodicals. 
The cost of its erection is estimated by Judge 
Buel at the moderate sum of fifty dollars, and it 
is well adapted to large establishments. 

" A is a barrel, or other vessel, for containing 
water and supplying it to the boiler C. D is a 
safety-valve. At the upper part of the boiler at 
C are placed two tubes, with stop-cocks. One 
of these tubes terminates near the bottom of the 
boiler. Upon the stop-cock being turned, wa- 
ter should always issue from this tube. When, 
therefore, steam issues fi'om it, and not water, 
this indicates that the Avater is too much boiled 
away, and consequently that there is a deficien- 
cy of water in the boiler. The other tube ter- 
minates within the boiler, near the top. Upon 
the stop-cock being turned, steam ought always 
to issue forth. But should water in place of 
steam come out, then it will appear that the 
boiler is too full of water. In this manner the 
attendant, by turning either stop-cock, ascer- 
tains whether there is a deficiency or excess of 
water in the boiler. The quantity of water 
could indeed be regulated by nicer means ; but 
that described will be found sufficient in prac- 
tice. F is the furnace, and E is a pipe with 
a stop-cock communicating with the boiler. 
When it is wished to obtain hot water, it is ob- 
tained by this pipe. A pipe G communicates 
with the barrels H, I, and conveys the steam 
to them ; and in these is placed the food to be 
steamed. By means of the stop-cocks /, /, 
* Vide p. 130. 



SWINE BREEDER. 171 

the communication can be cut off with any of 
the barrels, so that the steam may be admitted 
to one barrel, or two barrels, or three, as maybe 
wished. The barrels in the figure are two, 
but the number may be extended. Each bar- 
rel has a movable lid, which is kept down by 
screws, and a sliding board below, by which 
the food when ready, is withdrawn. The bar- 
rels are raised on a frame, so that a wheel-bar- 
row or vat may be placed below, and the food 
at once emptied into it. 

" By means of an apparatus of this kind, 
roots and other parts of plants may be steamed 
in a convenient and economical manner." 

One of the most convenient and economical 
contrivances for boiling — to the merits of which 
the present writer cheerfully bears testimony 
from considerable experience of its advantages — 
is now used to some extent in several counties 
of Virginia. A correspondent of the Farmer's 
Register, under date of May, 1839, gives the fol- 
lowing description. Suppose two or three cof- 
fee pots, one holding a gallon and the other 
three quarts, deprived of their spouts, handles, 
and bottoms, insert one within the other, force 
the upper and lower ends of their peripheries 
together, and have them well soldered, thus 
you will have a double cylinder. Put on the 
outer sheet, within an inch of the top, as also 
eight or ten inches lower, two circular pieces 
about two inches in diameter ; over these two 
holes, two copper pipes about five or six inches 
long, are to be soldered, at the bottom of the 
cylinder at right angles to the pipes. Cut a 



172 THE AMERICAN 

hole an inch in diameter, and solder over it a 
pipe (to draw the remaining water off) of about 
four inches long. Two arms of copper (cylin- 
ders) about an inch in diameter, and three 
inches long, are then to be soldered on the 
outer cylinder, just about the centre of gravity, 
when the cylinder is held erect or vertical. At 
the bottom, in the inside of the inner cylinder, 
place an iron grate, like that part of the gridiron 
on which the broiling is done. Let there be 
then placed an iron pipe (stove pipe) aboul five 
feet long, on the top of the cylinder, having a 
hole cut near the bottom of it, and closed by a 
door, hung on wire hinges, about five by eight 
inches. 

The machine for heating the water being 
now complete, you must have tubs made of 
such sizes as desired, and have holes bored for 
the insertion of the two pipes just mentioned. 
A frame should be constructed wide enough for 
the arms of the cylinder to rest upon. The 
lower hole to be placed at the bottom of the 
tub, placed upon four or six legs, is then made. 
The places where the arms are to rest are 
grooved of the proper size on the bars of the 
frame, and the tub for boiling is also put on it 
and adjusted to the boiler. The tub is then 
filled with water. Fire is placed in the grate, 
and the cylinder filled with chips or small wood. 
In fifteen minutes the water Avill boil. In 
speaking of the coffee pots, I have done it sim- 
ply for elucidation. The double cylinder of cop- 
per should be, for common purposes, about two 
feet six inches high, the diameter of the bottom 



SWINE BREEDER. 



1T3 



or lower muzzle about ten inches, and of the 
upper about seven. 

Reference to the following cut, will more 
clearly exhibit the various parts of an apparatus 
similar to the one proposed. It will be observ- 
ed that we have placed a furnace below the 
boiler. This can be done with small expense ; 
or a small grate, like the one proposed, can be 
adopted in its place. 




References — a, the boiler, made of copper 
and composed of an outer and inner cylinder ; 
6, the furnace; c, stove pipe; c/, door in the 
stove pipe to admit fuel; e, e, copper pipes 
passing from the boiler to a tub; /, tub for 
water and food; g, frame on which the tub 



1T4 THE AMERICAN 

rests ; A, spout to conduct off the water of the 
boiler. 

The boiler, as here represented, has an open 
chamber through the whole length, for the fire 
and smoke. The space between the fire cham- 
ber and the outside of the boiler contains 
water. 

" With a few chips," says the correspondent of 
the Farmer's Register last quoted, " a bushel 
of potatoes, apples, corn, (fcc. &c., can be boil- 
ed in half an hour from the kindling of the fire. 
If it be desirable to boil a greater quantity, a 
larger tub will be employed. By use of this 
machine in boiling wheat, chaff and apples, the 
milk of my cows was more than doubled. In 
washing clothes the advantages are equally 
great ; so in scalding hogs. A person not far 
from here used one of them in preparing the 
water to scald about twenty hogs. He heated 
the requisite quantity of water in a hogshead, 
in one-fourth of the time required by the usual 
mode of hot stones ; and instead of consuming 
near a cord of wood, he used but one arm-full 
and a half For fattening animals, the agency 
of this machine is very valuable. It is also 
portable ; all its fixtures may be carried in the 
arms. It is as simple as can be in its structure, 
and does not cost, or ought not to, more than 
eight dollars. 

The following are the dimensions of a boiler 
like the above, now in possession of the "writer. 

Whole height of boiler, - 21 inches 

Diameter at top of the outer "> ^ ^^ 
cylinder, - - - J 



SWINE BREEDER. 175 



Diameter at top of inner cylindsr, 5 ^ inches 
Diameter at the base of outer") -.r. ^^ 

cyhnder. ■ - • 3 

Diameter at base of inner cylinder, 7^ " 
This leaves an enclosed space of 1^ inches 
between the outer and inner cylinder, where 
the water is contained, and an open space be- 
tween the opposite sides of the inner cylinder, 
5i inches at top and 7^ at bottom, for wood and 
coal. 

To use this apparatus for steaming, nothing 
more is requisite than to place a strong cover 
on the tub and keep the water in it always be- 
low the surface of the upper pipe — or what 
woidd be still better, (graduating the water as 
before,) to make use of a high tub, or hogshead, 
in which a division is made just below the up- 
per pipe. In this mode, the operation of boil- 
ing and steaming may proceed simultaneously. 



176 THE AMERICAN 



CHAPTER V. 

General remarks on feeding — Treatment and food of young 
pigs — Of growing stores — Soiling — Proper periods for fat- 
tening and killing hogs— Treatment of fatting hogs — 
Food—Corn— Oats— Rye — Barley— Buckwheat— Beans — 
Pease — Tares— Potatoes— Carrots— Turnips — Ruta-Baga — 
Cabbages — Parsnips — Mangel Wurtzel — Sugar Beet — 
Pumpkins — Sunflower— Flax— Linseed jelly— Artichokes 
— Acorns— Distillers' grains— Hay-tea — Apples. 

In the preceding chapter we have devoted 
considerable attention to the history of swine, 
the estabhshed rules for the selection of good 
breeds, the construction of proper pens or enclo- 
sures, together with the preferable modes in 
which aliment should be prepared ; and we now 
pass naturally to consider the rearing and feed- 
ing of these animals, the kind of food best 
suited to promote their growth, as well as the 
quantities in which it should be administered. 

In the consideration of these important points, 
it is rather the super-abundance than the scar- 
city of experiments we have to encounter, and 
our labor is at once confined to a careful selec- 
tion of suitable facts from a multiplicity of more 
or less accurate suggestions and experiments. 
We propose, therefore, in the following chapter 
to consider separately the more prominent arti- 
cles used as food for swine, and thus present, 
under appropriate heads, the results which ob- 
servation and research have accumulated. To 
these may with propriety be added a detail of 



SWINE BREED EH. 177 

the course pursued by those, whose long experi- 
ence in raising swine entitles their opinions to 
credit and attention. 

We have already alluded to the neglect of 
regular and systematic feeding. As regards the 
quantity to be given, especially to hogs confined 
in pens, it is desirable that each portion should 
be at the same time sufficient for the animals , 
and yet squall enough to he entirely consumed. 
Economy in feeding, no less than in the prepa- 
ration of food, is a point of great importance. 

'• The most correct feeders, remarks an able 
writer, and those largely concerned, endeavor 
so to apportion their food, that the troughs may 
be entirely cleaned, and yet the appetite of the 
animal thoroughly sutisfied ; a plan which has 
proved in a thousand examples to fatten the 
most speedily and make the fattest hogs ; so 
totally opposite, nevertheless, to the ancient and 
still too common country method of filling the 
trough at every feeding hour whether empty or 
not. I have witnessed an old farmer repeatedly 
urging his servant to the performance of this 
duty, whilst the hog-trough remained constantly 
replenished with a mii'gled mess of meal and 
dung of equal use to the hogs, to lie and wallow 
in as to feed upon. To speak guardedly, I have 
no doubt that in former days at least one basket 
of corn in three has been in this mode converted 
to dung, without ever having entered the bodies 
of the animals." 

But while pigs should be kept on a full allow- 



178 THE AMERICAN 

ance of food, care should be taken to prevent 
their being gorged by its excess. If through 
inattention to this matter, hogs are surfeited 
while fattening, one of the best remedies is to 
administer half an ounce of sulphur to each ani- 
mal, two or three times daily for the space of a 
few (lays. This has been found in almost all 
instances, where it has been applied, to be an 
effectual corrective of the evils resulting from 
over feeding. Swine, remarks Judge Peters, 
in his " Notices for a young Farmer," should be 
moderately and frequently fed, so that they be 
kept full but do not loathe or reject their food, 
and in the end contract fever and dangerous ma- 
ladies originating in a hot and corrupted mass of 
blood. They should always be supplied with 
dry rotten wood, which should be kept in those 
pens for the animals to eat as their appetites or 
instinct may direct. Charcoal, it is said by 
some, will answer as good if not a more valua- 
ble purpose ; and that if swine can obtain char- 
coal, they will not only greedily devour a small 
portion of that substance, but will be little in- 
clined to rooting and remain quiet in their 
pens. 

''But in whatever way," says a writer in 
in Rees's Encyclopedia, " the food may be given, 
great care should be taken that fatting hogs 
have a full allowance at sufficiently short inter- 
vals to keep them constantly in a state of rest, 
as it is on this principle they become fat in an 
expeiUtious manner. It is indeed frequently 



SWINE BREEDER. 179 

observed, in fattening hogs, that they pay better 
for their keep in the latter part of their fattening 
than in the former, which probably arises in 
some measure from their not being fed in a suf- 
ficiently full manner, or with sufficient frequen- 
cy in the beginning so as to keep them in a 
state of perfect quietude in the styes." 

'' In feeding," remarks Henderson,* " great 
care must be taken not to give them such a 
quantity of food as may overload their stomachs, 
which may cause them to leave off feeding. If 
at any time they seem rather to loathe their 
food and leave part of it, the only way to re- 
move that, is to lessen the quantity, and now 
and then change their diet, giving them a few 
oats, barley, beans, or pease, two or three times 
a week, and to be particular in giving them no 
more than they can devour. The manger, or 
trough, must be always well washed out before 
putting in their victuals, as giving them clean 
food is a leading article to ensure their success 
in feeding. 

" If they leave any food in their manger, 
never offer it to them again, but allow some of 
the young stock to eat it up, which they will 
do with a good deal of pleasure. Boiled pota- 
toes, meat, &c., may raise a drought upon them ; 
to remove which, they should frequently have 
clean water mixed with a little meal. They 
ought to have salt to all their boiled food. A 

* Henderson on Swine, p. 39. 



180 THE AMERICAN 

few oats for dinner, occasionally, by way of 
change will not be amiss." 

" If their feeder wishes to be profited by this 
husbandry, he will never allow any of the stock 
to get poor ; for in that state they will consume 
much more food than is required to keep them 
in good condition. It is too general a practice 
to pay no attention to feeding them until they 
are put up, perhaps in November or December, 
when with a little pains they might be as fat, 
and weigh nearly as much, as at the period 
when they are feeding ; which would save two 
months feeding." 

In the language of pork-raisers, swine are di- 
vided into, sucking-pigs^ weanlings, porkers or 
growing stores, and hogs ; these terms having 
reference respectively to the age of the animal, 
and attention to these distinctions is necessary, 
to a correct understanding of the remarks of 
writers on this subject. 

Treatment and Food of Young Pigs. — In 
the second chapter of this work, we have al- 
ready alluded to this subject; — and it is certainly 
one deserving the most careful consideration, — 
care and attention to these animals at this ten- 
der age, is of far greater importance than the 
practice of many would lead us to suppose, 
and upon their treatment during the few first 
weeks depends the ease and rapidity with which 
they can be subsequently reared and fattened. 
To wean young pigs in such a manner, that 
they may lose no flesh during the process, and 



SWINE BREEDER. 181 

may remain at its close in a healthy and grow- 
ing condition, is an undertaking attended with 
considerable difficulty. Their food should in 
general be given moderately warm, and milk is 
undoubtedly one of the best articles which can 
be offered at this period. The produce of the 
dairy should, therefore, be used frequently and 
freely. Many judicious farmers have asserted, 
as the result of experience on this subject, that 
cows may be kept, for the exclusive nourish- 
ment of young pigs, with great economy. 
That this will be the case, when the proceeds 
of the dairy are given, no one who has tried it 
will dispute. Several instances are recorded of 
hogs that have been fattened entirely on this 
article for the purpose of experiment ; ayd the 
result has shown, that no pork is superior in 
point of weight and substance. Of the aston- 
ishing rapidity with which animals will thrive 
and increase while using it, we have ourselves 
seen abundant proof, in the growth of an im- 
proved Berkshire Boar, which was weaned 
under the direction of a highly inteUigent agri- 
culturist — Solomon Porter, Esq., of Connecticut, 
— and afterwards fed almost entirely on this 
article, and which attained, at the age of three 
months, the great weight of one hundred and 
forty pounds. 

The practice of mixing milk with other arti- 
cles for food of young pigs, is highly recom- 
mended by many farmers. Says a judicious 
breeder, in a letter to the Hon. H. L. Elsworth, 



182 THE AMERICAN 

" From actual experience, I have come to the 
conclusion, and practised upon it for the last 
twelve or fourteen years, of having as many- 
spring pigs (that come say in March) as 1 have 
cows for the summer, and feeding the pigs on 
milk or whey, mixed with provender, ground 
from corn, rye, oats, barley, or buckwheat, and 
prepared in the form of a pudding, in Avhich 
way the pigs will eat it best. If they appear to 
be clogged with one kind of grain. 1 try another, 
and often mix different kinds together." 

The author of the Practical Elements of 
Agriculture, suggests that pigs should be 
weaned at the end of the first six or eight 
weeks ; and be fed three times daily with 
wheat bran, barley dust, or by farinaceous food 
mixed with water warmed to the temperature 
of the mother milk, and with whey, or other 
refuse of the dairy or kitchen. Young pdgs, he 
remarks, are sometimes disposed of when suck- 
ing the dam. In other cases, they are sold, 
when weaned, to persons who design to feed 
them, and in other cases they are fed by the 
breeder himself. 

" When they are fattened by the breeder, two 
modes of feeding may be adopted. They may 
either be suffered to go at large, or they may be 
kept in pens and houses ; by the first of these 
methods after being weaned and fed for a peri- 
od until they are able to shift for themselves, 
they are turned abroad to pick up what they 
can in the straw yard, a little green food, as 



SWINE BREEDER. 183 

tares or clover during summer, and turnips or 
potatoes during the winter being supplied to 
them. They do not, under this management, 
receive any more expensive feeding until they 
are put up finally to be fattened, when they are 
confined for a few weeks and fed on farina- 
ceous and other food. The pigs intended for 
this species of management should be the best 
of the smaller varieties, and they may be killed 
for domestic use or disposed of when seven or 
eight stones weight. All the accommodation 
required under this system of management, is a 
few pens with sheds : first, for the breeding 
swine when nursing their young, and second, 
for the pigs which are in the course of being 
fattened. 

In all cases upon a farm, a certain number of 
pigs may be kept at large in this manner, for 
picking up the waste of the farm yards. But 
the regular course of management and that best 
adopted, where the feeding of the animals is 
carried on on the large scale, is where separate 
feeding-houses for the pigs in which a greater 
or lesser number can be kept.* 

'' Weanlings," remarks Mowbray, " should have 
at least one month of delicate feeding, warm 
lodging, and care. The same kind of food 
should be continued to them three times a day, 
to which they were at first accustomed with the 
sow. The first food should consist of warm 

*Vide Elements Practical Agriculture, p, 601. 



184 THE AMERICAN 

and nourishing wash, whether from the kitchen 
or dairy, thickened with fine pollard or barley- 
meal. A portion of strong beer may be added 
as a cordial, should circumstances render it ne- 
cessary. The common wash, pollard or meal 
mixed with water, if scalded the better. The 
same diet is proper for the pigs to partake of 
whilst sucking. Very young pigs ought not to 
be left abroad in continual rains, and will al- 
ways pay for a daily moderate feed of old beans 
with clover." 

" Weanlings are fattened for delicate pork, 
chiefly in the dairies^ where they are made ripe 
in a few weeks. Generally a pig of five v)r six 
months old will be fattene I in seven, or eight, 
or twelve weeks, dependent on his condition." 

An English writer remarks, •' Swine will fat- 
ten much faster on ivarm than cold food. (>orn 
and cold water will make them healthy, but 
warm beverage is considered as requisite to 
quick growth. Some English farmers turn m 
their httle pigs to the fatting stye. While the 
fatting hogs are taking their repast, the little 
ones wait behind them, and as soon as their bet- 
ters are served, lick out the trough." 

" Besides the advantage of having by this 
method no waste or foul troughs, there is ano- 
ther : the large pigs rise alertly to their work 
lest the small ones should forestall them, and 
fill themselves the fuller, knowing they have it 
not again to go to. 

*' The disadvantage of this practice is that the 



SWINE BREEDER. 185 

large ones are apt to lord it too much over the 
iittle ones, especially in a confined stye. If, 
however, they have a separate apartment as- 
signed them, with an entrance too small for the 
fatting swine to follow them, this disadvantage 
would be in a great measure remedied." 

A writer in Ree's Encyclopedia, while wri- 
ting in regard to yoimg pigs and sows loitk pig, 
holds the following language : " The sows con- 
siderably advanced in pig, and those with pig, 
should be fed in a better manner than the store 
pigs. The former should be supplied with 
good wash twice or oftener in the day, and 
have a sufficient allowance of cabbages, pota- 
toes, carrots, or other similar vegetables, so as to 
keep them in good condition, which is shewn 
by the gloss of their coats. The sows with pig, 
should be kept wit hthe litter in separate styes, 
and be still better fed than those in pig. When 
dairying is practised, the wash of that kind 
which has been preserved for the purpose, while 
the dairying was at its height, in brick cisterns 
constructed for receiving from the dairy, — must 
be given them, with food of the root kind, such 
as carrots, parsnips, potatoes, and cabbages in as 
large proportions as they will consume them, in 
order that the pigs may be properly supported 
and kept in condition. 

But when the business of dairying is not car- 
ried on, so as to provide wash of that sort, meal 
of some kind or other must, Mr Arthur Young 
thinks, be had recourse to for the making of 
13 



186 THE AMERICAN 

wash, by mixing it with water which, in the 
summer season, will be sufficient for their sup- 
port, and in winter it must be blended with the 
different sort of roots prepared by boiling ; or 
when for young pigs, with oats and pea-soup. 
With this soup and dairy-wash, when proper 
attention is bestowed, young pigs may, he con- 
ceives, be weaned and reared in the winter sea- 
son even, with profit and success. The pea 
soup is an admirable article when given in this 
intention. It is prepared by boiling six pecks 
of peas in about sixty gallons of water, till they 
are well broken down and diffused in the fluid ; 
it is then put into a tub or cistern for use. 

When dry food is given in combination with 
this, or of itself, he advises oats, as being much 
better than any sort of grain for young pigs, 
barley not answering nearly so well in this 
application. Oats coarsely ground have been 
found very useful for young hogs, both in the 
form of wash with water, and when made of 
a somewhat thicker consistence. But in cases 
where the sows and pigs can be supported with 
dairy wash and roots, as above, there will be a 
considerable saving made by avoiding the use 
of the expensive articles of barley meal, peas 
or bran, and pollard. 

Mr Donaldson remarks that in the usual mode 
the pigs reared by the farmer are fed for some 
weeks, after they are weaned, on whey or 
butter milk or on bran or barley meal mixed 
with water. They are afterwards maintained 



SWINE BREEDER. 187 

on other food as potatoes, carrots, the refuse of 
the garden, kitchen, scullery, &c., together with 
such additions as they can pick up in the farm 
yard. Sometimes they are sent into the fields 
at the close of harvest, where they make a 
comfortable living for several weeks on the 
gleanings of the crops ; or at other times where 
the farms are situated in the neighborhood of 
woods or forests they are sent thither to pick up 
the beach mast or acorns in the fall of the year. 
And that when they are arrived at a proper age 
for fattening, they are either put into this fitted 
up for the purpose, or sold to distillers, starch 
makers, dairy men, or cottagers. As to the 
treatment and feeding of porkers^ or growing 
stores, considerable diversity of sentiment pre- 
vails ; some contending that they should be 
constantly confined in suitable pens or small 
enclosures, which others recommend there rang- 
ing more at large— where the object desired is 
merely to keep these animals in a thriving con- 
dition till the season of fattening arrives, the 
latter method may be pursued perhaps with 
some advantages. Still in these cases, the 
range allowed should not be too extensive, and 
generally confined to yards in the immediate 
vicinity of the barn, or at the proper season to 
pastures well set in clover. 

Treatment and Pood of Growing Stores. 
Store pigs, says Mowbray, may generally be 
fed on almost any sort of food which they will 
eat, and thus acquire growth ; and then for six 



188 



THE AMERICAN 



weeks or two months before they are slaugh- 
tered they should be fed on grain and milk 
which will harden and give flavor to the pork. 
Through the winter their food will be the run 
of the barn yard, roots of all kinds (of which 
every farmer should have a plentiful supply) 
including ruta baga, and cabbage, with occa- 
sional rations of grain of some kinds with wash. 
In autumn and in a plentiful season swine will 
subsist on acorns : and in summer on clover, 
lucerne or tares. Swine turned to shift upon 
forests or commons are apt to^ stray and hide 
themselves for a considerable time ; the ancient 
and ready method to collect them is by the 
sound of a horn Avith which they have been 
accustomed to be fed. Feeding pigs, says Low, 
are fed on green food of all kinds ; and hence 
clover, lucerne and tares may be employed in 
feeding them in summer, though to fatten them 
finally some farinaceous or other nourishing 
food will be required. They will also graze 
like sheep and oxen, but grass consumed in this 
way is not the natural food of the animal, which 
consists of roots rather than herbage. The 
feeding of pigs on herbage is merely to carry 
them on for a time till more fattening food can 
be procured. When fed on herbage a ring 
should be passed through the cartilage of the 
nose to prevent their following their natural in- 
stinct of ploughing up the ground, but the 
same purpose may be more effectually served 
by dividing the tendons by which they are ena- 
bled to move the snout. 



SWINE BREEDER. 189 

^' There are two purposes," continues the same 
author when describing the mode pursued by 
raising small stocks on some of the English farms, 
" for which pigs may be fattened. The one is 
to yield pork which may be used either fresh, 
salted or pickled ; and the other is to produce 
bacon which is prepared by salting and drying 
the flesh. When fed for pork, which is the 
most convenient system in the practice of the 
farm, the pigs may be reared to the age of six 
or eight months ; when intended for bacon, they 
must be reared to a greater age and size, as ten 
or twelve months. When the object is pork, the 
smaller class of early pigs is to be preferred ; 
when bacon is desired the larger class should 
be cultivated." 

In the case of feeding for pork alone, it has 
been computed that upon a regular farm, with 
a supply of tares and clover to the animals in 
summer, and of potatoes and turnips in winter, 
and with no other feeding than the refuse of 
the barn, milk house, and kitchen, one pig may 
be fattened in the year for every six acres of 
land under corn crop. Thus supposing there 
are to be 240 acres in corn crop, the quantity of 
pigs fed annually upon the farm might be 40. 
To feed this stock, in addition to what they can 
pick up in the straw yards, about an acre and a 
quarter of clover, and an equal quantity of po- 
tatoes will be sufficient. To keep up the num- 
ber three breeding swine will be required, of 
which two should be sold each year, their place 



« 
190 THE AMERICAN 

being supplied by an equal number of younger 
ones reared upon the farm. The surplus be- 
yond the quantity of 40, which it is proposed 
to feed may be disposed of when weaned. This 
is a method of management practicable upon 
ordinary farms, without any interference what- 
ever with the food and attention required for 
larger stock. 

Another method of management may be 
adopted. This is to take only one litter of pigs 
from each sow, to sell the pigs as soon as they 
are weaned, and immediately afterwards to 
feed the swine. This will be a profitable spe- 
cies of management, provided there is a suffi- 
cient demand in the district for so many pigs 
when weaned. 

Mr Henderson, in his Treatise on Swine, re- 
commends this system. He calculates that one 
sow for every seven and a half acres may be 
fatted in this manner. He proposes that the 
breeder shall purchase in the fir^-t place twenty 
sow pigs and one boar pig which had been born 
the beginning of June. In the following June 
all the females will have had pigs. These they 
are to suckle for about two months. The pigs 
are then to be sold just when weaned ex- 
cept twentyone, namely twenty sow pigs and 
one boar pig ; these being selected from those 
which are of the handsomest shape, so that the 
subsequent stock may be kept good and uniform. 
The farmer will now be in a situation to go on 
without further outlay of money for stock. In 



SWINE BREEDER. 191 

a month after the pigs are weaned and sold, the 
sows themselves are to be put up to feed. This 
will be about the beginning of September. 
The male must then be admitted to them so cis 
to render them quiet and apt to feed, and in two 
months they will be fat and of a large size. 

Now the introduction of a practice similar to 
this, by the cultivators of many of the large 
farms in the western and other portions of the 
United States, would be attended with great 
advantages. It is at once a simple and conve- 
nient method, of deriving large profits, from 
what is generally neglected as wastage — the 
remaining fodder after the crops have been 
gathered ; and it exhibits most conclusively the 
good results of endeavoring to make the most 
of everything. The more general cultivation 
of the corn crop, and the cheapness of grain, 
would allow the keeping in the country, of 
even a larger number than those proposed, at 
a very trifling advance, if any, in the expenses. 

The whole system of European agriculture, 
and the modes of feeding stock, differ essential- 
ly from the practice of this country, and the 
desirable object there, is often to avoid the use of 
many articles for food, which the exuberance of 
our soil render economical. But a detail of 
the practice pursued by judicious cultivators, is 
always valuable for important truths of general 
application. 

Where swine are suffered to range for a great 
portion of the year, and are confined in the 



192 THE AMERICAN 

winter to the barn yard or small enclosures, Mr 
Young advises that the whole number of hogs 
should be looked over in the month of May, 
and sorted ; such as have attained half or more 
of their growth, being drawn and turned upon 
lucerne or clover crops, where they should be 
kept until the end of September, care being 
taken that the fences are in good order, and that 
proper ponds and other places are provided for 
the hogs to drink at. Under this management 
they are found, he says, to grow rapidly, the 
food in general agreeing well with them, and 
they are then taken up in excellent condition 
for fattening. In this mode the hogs sufficient- 
ly grown are selected from the sows that have 
pigs and the weaned pigs, and only the latter 
left to be fed with the dairy or other wash, with 
suitable green food, such as lettuces, cabbages, 
&c., by which a much larger stock of breeding 
hogs may be kept. The cabbages may be used 
for the sows, that have spring litters, and the 
lettuce for those that have autumn litters. It 
is observed that these plants are of great use 
for sows and pigs, promoting the increase of 
milk in a great degree, affording great assistance 
where the dairies are small. From the sweet 
juicy quality of the lettuce, the hogs are not 
only extremely fond of it, but it becomes high- 
ly nutritious. In this v/ay the sAvine may be 
Avell supported, and carried forward till the 
stubbles are cleared, when, they may be turned 
upon them, and thus the whole year be pro- 



SWINE BREEDER. 193^ 

vided for, in these different ways with the great- 
est econony. 

Soiling. It has been further stated, says the 
author of the article on swine, in Rees's Ency- 
clopedia, that although the system of manage- 
ment proposed above be advantageous, that of 
soiling the hogs in the yards with green food, 
notwithstanding the increased expense of it, and 
the unavoidable waste of a certain portion of the 
food, is highly preferable on account of the 
vast store of manure that may be raised. It 
cannot however be attempted with propriety 
unless the farmer be provided with abundance 
of other materials for the purpose of litter, and 
substances of the peaty or earthy kinds, for the 
purpose of covering the floors of the hog yard, 
in order to absorb and prevent the waste of 
any portion of the liquid matters that may fall 
upon them. In this method clover, chickory, 
tares, and lucerne are the kinds of food that are 
most commonly employed ; but there are others 
that may be brought to their assistance when 
necessary, especially on the stronger sorts of 
land, such as beans, eaten green, which afford 
a large quantity of food, in proportion to the 
land they occupy ; the whole stems being con- 
sumed ; and cabbages may likewise be had re- 
course to for the summer as well as winter food 
of these animals. Mr Young advises that the 
yards of the hogs styes should have gates suffi- 
ciently large for bringing in carts loaded with 
the different articles of food, and litters, as well 



194 THE AMERICAN 

as for removing the manure that is made in 
them. In this system of practice, instead of a 
few sows only being kept, as was usual in com- 
bination with the dairy system, great numbers 
may be maintained, and a great many young 
pigs be raised. 

Proper Periods for Fattening and Kil- 
ling Hogs. As to the proper periods for fatten- 
ing and killing hogs some diversity of senti- 
ment prevails. Mr Phinney, in an able letter 
published in the New England Farmer, re- 
marks ; '' On a large farm, where much green 
herbage is produced, and where the value of 
the manure is taken into account, I consider 
the pigs killed at the age of fifteen or sixteen 
months as giving the greatest profit. When it 
is intended to kill them at this age, they may 
be kept on more ordinary and cheaper food for 
the first ten or twelve months, or till within 
four or five months of the time of killing. 
The manure they make more than pays the 
extra expense incurred in keeping them the 
longer time ; but spring pigs which arc to be 
killed the ensuing winter and spring must be 
kept upon the best of food from the time they 
are taken from the sow until they are slaugh- 
tered." 

Cobbett recommends keeping hogs until they 
are more than a year old before they are killed. 
He says the flesh is more solid and more nutri- 
tious than that of a young hog, much in the 
same degree that the mutton of a full mouthed 



SWINE BREEDER. 195 

wether is better than that of a younger wether. 
The pork or bacon of young hogs, even if fat- 
tened on corn, is very apt to boil out as they 
call it ; that is to say come out of the pot 
smaller in bulk than it goes in.* 

Mr Featherstonhaugh observesf " Farmers dif- 
fer much in their plans of raising stock for pork • 
some permitting their shoats to run at large 
eighteen months, till they are penned up to fat- 
ten ; others give them a range in clover pas- 
tures, and begin to fatten them earlier. I ap- 
prehend there is a much more profitable way, 
and attended with less trouble for those who 
have the right breeds. According to the quan- 
tity of pork wanted, should be the number of 
breeding sows kept over, and there should be 
no other hogs on the farm, kept over winter, 
but the breeding sows. These, when they pig 
the latter end of March, should be fed in the 
most attentive manner with swill and shorts. 
The pigs from a full grown sow, will generally 
be twelve in number ; these should be thinned 
down to eight, and as soon as they begin to 
feed freely out of the trough, should be weaned 
and afterwards fed with green tares, clover, 
boiled potatoes, ground peas, unmerchantable 
corn, or any other nourishing food, turning them 
out every day into a small yard where there is 

* Vide Mowbray on Poultry, &c., p. 187. 

t Memoirs of the New York Board of Agriculture, volume 1, 
p. 332. 



196 THE AMERICAN 

a shallow pond for them to lie in. A remarka- 
ble breed of pigs which had been treated in 
this manner, were exhibited at Duanesburgh 
fair ; when eight months old, one of them was 
slaughtered, and weighed exactly three hundred 
and eleven pounds. They all attracted univer- 
sal attention. This method, as it is attended 
with very little trouble, and leaves so small a 
quantity of stock on hand to winter over, ap- 
pears to me to be more economical in every point 
of view, than any other which is practised." 

In th'e county of Renssellaer, New York, says 
Fessenden,* some of the farmers assert, that 
March pigs, killed about Christmas, are the most 
profitable for pork. Others say that pigs ought 
never to come until June, " for the cost of earli- 
er pigs exceeds the profit." 

John Lowell, Esq., in a communication to 
the Rev. Henry Colman, Agricultural Commis- 
sioner of Massachusetts, remarks : — '' I never 
tointered any pigs, as no person resides on my 
place from December 1st to May 1st. It was 
therefore a matter of importance to me, to ascer- 
tain on what description of pigs, or rather of 
what age the most flesh could be put, in any 
limited time, with similar treatment. I may 
say that I have fully and clearly ascertained from 
a trial of twenty years, that young pigs of from 
25 to 30 pounds, will give nearly double, in some 
remarkable^ cases three times as many pounds as 

* Vide Complete Farmer, p, 157. 



SWINE BREEDER. 197 

shoats of six months, weighing from 100 to 150. 
I have taken two pigs of 100 pounds each, age 
six months, and never was able between May 
and November, to get them above 180, rarely 
above 170. I have taken three pigs of about 
30 pounds each, and on the same food which I 
gave to the two that would weigh from 170 to 
180 each, in the same period ; nay I have taken 
pigs of 200, and never could get them to weigh 
more than 300 in seven months on my food. 
The way I ascertain the quantity of food is, I 
never give any thing but the produce of my 
dairy, and the refuse of the garden, peaches, 
apples and cabbages, which are uniform gener- 
ally. 
Three pigs of 90 weight or 30 weight 

each will give ordinarily - - - 510 lbs. 
Less original weight will give 90 lbs., and 

often not more than 60 - - - - 90 



Gain - - 420 

Two pigs of 100 weight each will give 

ordinarily _ . . . 340 lbs. 
Less original weight - - - 200 



Gain - 140 

But the three pigs of 90 weight will not con- 
sume for the first three months half so much as 
the two of 150 pounds each, and I have kept a 
fourth and sold it in August for quarter pork. 

There is nothing new or remarkable in these 



198 



THE AMERICAN 



facts. It is the law of the whole animal creation. 
It is trae of the calf and of man. The child of 
7 pounds, quadruples its weight in twelve 
months ; and the calf of 60 weight, if fine and 
well fed, will weigh 600 weight at the end of 
the year; and (if a female) will not double the 
last weight at any age." 

" It should be remarked that the weight at 
purchase is live weight, and at the sale dead, 
or nett Aveight, because, in truth, to the owners, 
this is the true mode of considering the subject. 
No doubt my food is peculiarly favorable to 
young animals, it consisting in very hberal al- 
lowance of milk. If the older pigs were at 
once put on Indian meal, they Avould attain 250 
pounds at a year old, but the cost of the meal at 
70 cents per bushel, would amount to 9 dollars, 
and if the first cost $5,50 be added, and the pig 
sold at 6 cents, there would be but two dollars 
gain, on two pigs of 100 pounds each, while 
three small pigs without meal, fed on milk, 
loould give $24, in the same time. I do not 
mean to give minute details, but general views." 

"As an important qualification of the foregoing 
statement, it should be added that shoats of six 
months bought out of droves, have usually been 
stinted in their growth, and animals, like trees, 
recover slowly after a check. I presume if 
shoats were taken from a careful and liberal 
owner, the difference would be less, but as a 
general law, it may be safely affirmed that 
weight for weight at the purchase^ the younger 



SWINE BREEDER. 199 

the animal^ the greater the positive^ and the far 
greater the net gain.^ 

It is the general practice in the Western 
States, where the business of pork raising is 
conducted on the most extensive scale, to sel- 
dom fatten hogs before the age of 18 months, 
and in some cases even at a latter period. One 
of the main objects sought for there, is great 
weighty and the breeds generally cultivated 
(previous to the introduction of improved varie- 
ties) have been those that matured slowly. 
The extraordinary cheapness and abundance of 
grain, and immense forest and prairie ranges^have 
rendered this mode of treatment, advantageous 
and comparatively economical. Still it cannot 
be denied, that the methods pursued in that 
portion of our country, are those involving great 
and needless waste, and that the animals, rare- 
ly attain as great weight by one third, and in 
many cases one half, as a different mode of 
feeding would secure in shorter periods. 

Treatment of Fattening Hogs. — We are 
decidedly of opinion that whatever mode of 
treatment and feeding may be adopted towards 
growing stores, while attaining their maturity, 
that swine during the fatting process should be 
confined in very small enclosures or stall pens. 
This is an arrangement which secures the most 
economical distribution of food, prepared in the 

* Vide Transactions of the Essex Agricultural Society for 
1839. 



200 THE AMERICAN 

methods we have before described, and also, 
(which we deem of the highest importance) the 
uninterrupted rest of the animal thus treated. 
The numerous advantages attending this meth- 
od, we have mentioned heretofore at large, and 
we cannot but believe that the results of a few 
experiments will lead to its general adoption. 

There are several principles of great impor- 
tance, which should never be forgotten by those 
who are desirous of fattening hogs with econo- 
my and expedition. 

And first, it is desirable that the breeder 
should he fully acquainted with the previous 
treatment and feeding of the animal he designs 
to fatten^ as a knowledge of these particulars, 
will materially influence the course he should 
pursue. Where hogs are purchased from droves, 
it is often difficult to ascertain these points cor- 
rectly. This difficulty, however, will not exist 
where the animals are those of his own rearing. 
But the condition of all hogs, before they are 
put upon the fattening process, should be mi- 
nutely examined. It has been found highly 
useful to give small quantities of sulphur, ashes, 
salt, and charcoal, for a few weeks before pigs 
are put up to be fattened — a practice, which is 
highly as useful at all times, and one which 
during the fattening process should be onost 
faithfully adhered to. Hogs should not be shut 
up to fatten, immediately after long journeys, 
but should be permitted to enjoy a week or two 
of rest. Mr Colman states that in some instan- 



SWINE BREEDER. 201 

ces, where his endeavors to fatten pigs were 
unsuccessful, he found that after slaughtering, 
the intestines were entirely corroded with 
worms, which undoubtedly prevented the thriv- 
ing of the animals. Those, therefore, who find 
their hogs increasing slowly under good treat- 
ment, should suspect the existence of some such 
counteracting cause, and if possible, apply a 
remedy ; and throughout the whole process, 
great attention should be paid to state of the 
skin, and the general cleanliness of the animals. 
Experiment has proved that where the issues 
in the fore legs of hogs are stopped up, they 
will not fatten ; these should therefore be atten- 
ded to, and kept open by rubbing with cobs, or 
other suitable substances. 

Again, whatever may be ihefood designed to 
be used, the change should he gradual^ from 
that to lohich the hog has been accustomed^ and 
high feeding at first, should be avoided. This 
is necessary to prevent surfeits and other unfa- 
vorable conditions of the body ; and where they 
unfortunately occur, the evil should be obviated 
at once, by half ounce doses of sulphur, given 
three times daily, for the space of three or four 
days. 

Another rule of equal importance is, that 
where the fattening process is once convmeiiced, 
it should he continued until the object is attain- 
ed. Frequent diminutions as to quantity, and 
changes in the quality of food, in these cases, 
will be found injurious, and produce a retro- 
14 



202 THE AMERICAN 

grade action, which it is extremely difficult to 
remedy. The frequent failure of endeavors to 
improve the condition of hogs that have once 
commenced falling away, is generally known. 
During the latter stage of fattening, hogs will 
eat less than in the former, and as soon as they 
cease to gain in weight, should be immediately 
killed. 

In short, the business of fattening hogs with 
economy and expedition, is one that demands 
the constant attendance and supervision of the 
the breeder ; the more, as the course of a few 
weeks will determine the profits to be derived 
from those animals, in the purchase and previ- 
ous treaiment of which, he has invested a large 
share of his pr:)])erty. 

We pass now to a more detailed consideration 
of those articles employed in the feeding, and 
especially the fattening of swine. 

Corn. Whatever may be the food of swine, 
in their growing and maturing state, corn, 
when properly prepared, is undoubtedly one of 
the best articles for expeditious and successful 
fattening ; and perhaps the one most generally 
employed in the practice of American farmers, 
for the nourishment of hogs at all ages. In 
the Western portion of the Union, especially, its 
great abundance and consequent cheapness ren- 
der it one of the most economical articles to 
which the cultivator can resort. To secure its 
full advantages, however, it should be given in 
some form diiferent from its raw state. It is 



SWINE BREEDER, 203 

true indeed that, in whatever mode it is admin- 
istered, it will support and fatten animals, but 
that the same amount, when ground and boiled 
or steamed, will go much further we have here- 
tofore furnished ample pi oofs. 

In the experiments of Mr Coiman, given in 
the fourth chapter of this work, we learn that 
he fed ten hogs for the space of thirty days, 
during which time they gained fiftytwo pounds 
each, or more than two and a half pounds daily, 
on four and one half bushels of meal, prepared 
as hasty pudding. The allowance was two and 
a quarter bushels to each liog for the whole 
time, or (estimating a bushel of meal at lAventy 
quarts after deducting two quarts for toll) four 
and a quarter quarts to each per day, at an ex- 
pense of not quite two cents per quart when 
meal was seventyeight cents per bushel. 

At another time by improving the mode of 
preparation and producing by continued boiling 
in large quantities of water almost the same 
quantity of from one peck that he had previous- 
ly done from half a bushel of meal, he fed three 
hogs for the space of sixtythree days on five 
and a quarter bushels, the cost of which was 
$3 94. The daily food of each in this case 
was nearly seven-eights of a quart and the ex- 
pense per day about two cents for each. The 
whole gain during the 63 days was 183 pounds. 
In this case the object of the experiment was 
not to force the thrift of the animals but to keep 
them in an improving condition. 



204 THE AMERICAN 

In many of the Western States, during the 
present fall, corn has been sold at eighteen and 
three quarters cents and even twelve and a half 
cents per bushel, and twentyfive cents may be 
safely assumed as the average price of that arti- 
cle, so that the same amount (four and a half 
bushels which cost Mr Colman $3 93) could 
in general be obtained there for $1 31, and 
allowing even thirtyseven and a half cents as 
the price, the cost would be less by half than 
that of corn in Massachusetts. 

According to the experiment of Mr Colman, 
where seven-eighths of a quart was found suffi- 
cient for daily consumption, a hog could be 
maintained, at the present low price of twelve 
and a half cents per bushel at little more than 
one-third of a cent per day, and at twentyfive 
cents per bushel at somewhat less than one cent 
daily. An allowance of four quarts, which 
should be ample in all cases if properly prepared, 
could be afforded at three and one-eighth cents 
per day. Thus one bushel at the cost of twen- 
tyfive cents, would be sufficient, after the de- 
duction of the toll, or nearly so, to fatten one 
hog for eight days, or furnish the food of eight 
hogs daily. 

Of the accuracy of the experiments made by 
Mr Colman there can be no doubt, and we in- 
troduce them as exhibiting conclusively the gain 
arising from the judicious preparation of corn. 
And similar results to those given by Mr Col- 
man have attended the experiments of others. 



SWINE BREEDER. 205 

Says a correspondent of the Farmer's Cabi- 
net :* "On the first day of December shoats of 
the same breed, nearly of the same size, and 
as much ahke in every respect as could be se- 
lected from a herd of ninety hogs, were made 
choice of ; each carefully weighed, and placed 
in a single sty^wheYe their food could be exactly 
regulated. They weighed between 81 pounds 
and 100. The two, whose weight together made 
185 pounds were fed one gallon of shelled corn, 
weighing seven pounds to each, for every tweri- 
tyfour hours, and as much water as they wanted. 
This quantity of food was a plenty for them ; 
generally they about consumed it. Some five 
or six different days between the first of 
December and fourth of January, the time the 
experiment was going on, they did not eat their 
whole allowance." 

" For the two shoats, whose weight together 
made 173 pounds, seven pounds of Indian corn 
meal, by measure ten pints, were made into 
good mush, or hasty pudding, and divided be- 
tween them for every twentyfour hours. That 
is, these two had allowed them exactly half the 
weight of meal which the other had of raw 
corn. The seven pounds of meal were daily 
mixed with scalding water and then well boil- 
ed ; the whole process of cooking was done on 
an average in one and a half hours. The 
evening feed of the shoats, fed on mush, was 

* Vol. 1, page 153—4. 



206 THE AMERICAN 

generally warm ; the morning feed having- 
stood all night was generally cold. The seven 
pounds, or ten pints of meal, when cooked 
weighed all of thirty pounds, and measured an 
average of three gallons. There was a differ- 
ence of nine pounds in the (original) weight of 
the latter pair ; the smallest had the least appe- 
tite, and his allowance of fifteen pounds of mush 
was just as much as he appeared to want or 
would eat up clean ; the other was greedy and 
always sharp set, dispatched his mess quickly 
and wanted more." 

'^ Before the experiment had progressed a fort- 
night there was a very perceptible difference in 
the appearance of these pigs. Those fed on the- 
mush assumed a more thrifty, healthy, fresh 
appearance, particularly of their hair, and this- 
difference became more striking as the experi- 
ment advanced." 

" On the fourth of January while preparations 
were making for killing and dressing, they were 
again weighed on the hoof. One of those, 
then, whose daily allowance had been seven 
pounds of corn each had increased twenty 
pounds in the twenty four days ; the other, 
which had an equal allowance, had increased 
only five pounds. I could not account for the 
difference by any thing I could discover, either 
before or after killing : the appetites of these 
two was much more alike than of the others, 
and their health was apparently equally good." 

" Of the pair fed on mush, whose daily 



SWINE BREEDER. 207 

allowance had been three and a half pounds 
of meal each, the greedy one had gained 
twenty three pounds, and the other twentyone 
pounds." 

These are all the material facts in these ex- 
periments, except that a very small portion of 
salt was put in each mess of mush, and there is 
no miracle in them. The hogs allowed three 
and a half pounds of each gained less than 
three-fourths of a pound daily, and this surely 
they might have gained from the meal, but 
they gained more than those fed on double that 
quantity of corn. The saving of one half the 
immense quantity of corn consumed in raising 
and fattening hogs in Maryland, would be well 
worth the offer of a premium to have these 
experiments accurately repeated and tested by 
different persons. 

Value of the Cobs of Corn. From the 
cobs as well as the kernels of corn may be d(v 
rived a large amount of nutriment. Mr White, 
in a communication to the Cultivator,* relates 
as the result of experiments made by an exten- 
sive feeder in Philadelphia, that a bushel of 
meal, made of corn and cobs, was quite equal 
to a bushel of meal made of corn and oats, and 
that his cattle throve as fast as the former and 
never cloyed on it. 

In the American Farmerf will be found a de- 
tailed account of a nicely conducted experiment 

* Vol. 2, p. 88. t Vol. 1, p. 324. 



208 THE AMERICAN 

by P. Minor, Esq., of Virginia, to ascertain the 
amount of this nutriment. He took ten bushels 
of corn and cob, weighing three hundred and 
sixtyseven pounds, and ten bushels of shelled 
corn and subjected them to the process of distil- 
lation. The product of the corn and cob was 
thirteen gallons of spirits, and of the green corn 
eighteen gallons. Estimating that the ten 
bushels of corn and cob, would have given five 
bushels of shelled corn, which is the general 
proportion, there will be left as the product of 
the five bushels of cobs, four gallons of spirit, or 
nearly half as much as was afforded by five 
bushels of corn. Mr Minor remarks that the 
cob afibrds other nutritive matter than the sac- 
charine, which is converted into alcohol, as 
mucilage and oils. We have besides abundant 
testimony in the practice of eminent farmers, of 
the utility *of feeding cob-meal to animals 
always mixed, we believe, with meal of the 
corn or oats. Cob and corn meal is improved 
by scalding, still more for hogs by boihng, with 
potatoes, apples, and pumpkins. Mixed feed of 
this sort may be fed thrice in six hours. It is 
eaten in so short a time as to aiford much bene- 
ficial rest to the animal. 

But aside from the great nutriment the cob 
affords, its minute division and incorporation 
with the nutritive matter of corn, is valuable on 
the principle established by the French che- 
mists,* of giving a proper distention of the 

* See Chapter iv. 



SWINE BREEDER. 209- 

stomach, and thus lessening the amount of food 
required for the full support and nourishment of 
swine and other animals. 

The Rev. Mr Perley, in a communication to 
the New England Farmer, thus describes his 
practice in this matter: ''I have, for several 
years, practiced having my corn and cobs ground 
together, breaking the cobs first by pounding, 
and grinding one peck of corn with a bushel of 
the cobs. Meal made of this composition I 
scalded, and made about as thick as common 
hasty pudding, or mixed about one peck of the 
meal with about three pecks of boiled potatoes, 
thickened to the consistency of pudding. There 
were no hogs in the neighborhood grew so fast 
or were fit to kill sooner in autumn." 

Mr Rice, of Shrewsbury, furnishes a state- 
ment in the Massachusets Agricultural Reposi- 
tory, of an experiment made on a yoke of oxen, 
'' So equally matched that no one who viewed 
them appeared satisfied which was the best. 
The food of one was in the proportion of two 
bushels of corn to one of oats, and of the other, 
the same amount of corn to one bushel of cobs. 
When taken to market and slaughtered, the 
oxen weighed twentyeight hundred and a half; 
the one fed on corn and oats had one hundred 
and sixty three pounds of tallow, and weighed 
about half a hundred more. Tiie one fed on 
cob meal had one hundred and sixtythree pounds 
of tallow, and the butcher pronounced his meat 
half a dollar on the hundred better than that of 
the other." 



210 



THE AMERICAN 



Mr Thomsorij a distinguished southern agri- 
cuiturahst, and the conductor of the Pattern 
Farm, near New Orleans, in conversation a few- 
days since, with a friend of the present writer, 
remarked, that he invariably crushed both corn 
and cob, in a bark mill, and after steeping the 
meal, fed to his hogs and other stock. He 
remarked, also, that corn, fed alone, produced 
in general great acidity, which the cob meal cor- 
rected hy the quantity of potash it contained. 
The benefit of this correction, is well under- 
stood by house-keepers of the old school, who so 
often burn cobs to procure good ashes to soak 
with meal, and thus destroy its acidity. So 
that in addition to the nutritive matter they 
contain, and their advantage in distending the 
stomach, cobs are highly valuable for the alka- 
line properties which they possess. 

Those who desire to pursue this subject fur- 
ther, are referred to an article from the pen of 
Dr Meare, in the volume of the Transactions of 
the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agri- 
culture, where the utility of grindmg the cob 
and corn together is clearly shown, both by ana- 
logy and experiment. 

Cast iron bark mills, may be used to great 
advantage in cracking the corn and cob, where 
other mills are convenient, to continue the grind- 
ing afterwards. Much depends on the reduction 
of the cobs to a fine meal. Mr Buckminster, 
while speaking of machinery for this purpose 
says, '' For making cob meal we placed in our 



SWINE BREEDER. 211 

mill a pair of large stones, cut the eye of the 
runner, twelve inches at top, and fourteen or 
fifteen inches at bottom, and bosomed it out 
large, as we term it. In this manner it answers 
every purpose for grinding and cracking corn in 
the ears." 

Yalue of Corn Stalks as Fodder. — The 
stalks and shucks of corn, as is proved by nu- 
merous experiments, are capable of affording no 
small amount of nourishment, and when cut 
into small pieces and steamed, may be em- 
ployed with great advantage as the food of 
hogs. Tt is ascertained from close investigationy 
that when an acre of ground corn yields one 
ton of corn fodder and tops, it will also give two 
tons of corn stalks, and yet in the practice of 
many the possibility of using these articles as 
food for animals, seems to be entirely over- 
looked. Many intelligent farmers, says a writer 
in the New England Farmer, estimate generally 
the value of corn fodder on an acre of corn^ 
yielding forty bushels to the acre, well cured and 
saved, as equivalent for the feeding of any stock 
to a ton of English hay, and not a few rate it 
even higher. But much of the nourishment to 
be derived from the corn crops depends on the 
mode in which it may be gathered. There are 
three prevalent modes of doing this. One is to 
top the stalks after the ear has become perfectly 
formed and slightly glazed. 

The second method is to leave the crop un- 
touched until it is perfectly ripened, and then to 



212 THE AMERICAN 

cut it up at the bottom and carry it all into the 
barn and husk it. Some gather it in the field 
and then cut the fodder. 

The third mode, is, after the ear is glazed and 
the corn has passed beyond the boiling or 
roasting state, to cut it up at bottom and let it 
dry in the shock. 

The first method is liable to many objections. 
There is danger of performing the operation too 
early, and of sustaining a considerable loss from 
gathering the corn before it is sufficiently har- 
dened ; and by either of the second modes the 
corn when thus left, is exposed to suffer from 
the frost, and lose much of its succulence 
and nutriment. 

In the third mode it is found that the corn is 
taken away early from the reach of the frost 
and if properly managed ripens perfectly and 
weighs more by the bushel than if entirely 
dried as by the second mode ; and besides the 
corn fodder is dried with all its juices retained 
in it, and has a richness and freshness which 
renders it palatable to cattle, and as nutritive for 
beef or milk stock as any dry feed which can 
be given them.* 

That the old method of topping stalks is er- 
roneous, and shbuKi be discontinued, is proved 
by the results of many experiments. It is 
stated by William Carmichael, in the Farmer's 
Register, that he took promiscuously one hun- 

* See N. E. Farmer, vol. xviii. 74. 



SWINE BREEDER. 213 

dred ears from com that had been topped, and 
the same quantity from that which had not 
been topped, growing side by side ; the first 
weighed on the cob fifty pounds, and when 
shelled forty-one pounds, and measured twenty- 
one quarts one pint. The latter weighed fifty- 
four pounds, shelled forty-six pounds, and 
measured twenty-six quarts, showing a differ- 
ence of nearly one fifth in favor of the unstrip- 
ped corn. " Topping," says a writer in the 
Cultivator, " not only prevents the farther ela- 
boration of the sap, but it deprives the grain of 
much that is already elaborated and on its way 
to the grain." 

The late John Lorrain, a distinguished writer 
on agriculture, says : " In the process of topping 
and blading, one row was left entire, standing 
between the row that had been topped on the 
twentieth of August, and another row which 
was topped on the second of September. These 
rows were cut off by the roots on the third of 
October, and hauled in and set up separately 
under my own inspection. They were husked 
and measured on the first of November. Pro- 
duce of the row that had not been stripped, 
nine bushels and five eighths of com in the ear. 
One of the rows which had been topped and 
stripped measured seven bushels and six eighths, 
and the other topped and stripped row, mea- 
sured seven bushels and three eighths of corn in 
the ear. 

As the length of these rows was not given, 



214 THE AMERICAN. 

no definite idea of the difference can be obtained ; 
but in an experiment made by William Clark, 
Jr., of Massachusetts, the loss was twelve bushels 
and forty-six pounds per acre, from which he 
deduced, that about twenty per cent., or one 
fifth part of the crop, is destroyed by cutting 
the stalks in the way they are usually cut. 

'' When soiling, that is, feeding with cut 
grass food," remarks a correspondent of the Cul- 
tivator, '' forms any part of farm economy, we 
doubt not that corn sown broad cast, for this 
purpose, may be made to form a very profitable 
crop, either as a main dependence, or as an aux- 
iliary to short or spare pasture. It gives the 
greatest burthen of green food and of as nutrient 
a quality as clover, though it can hardly be 
made to yield a cutting before August. It 
might well come in after clover as food for cows 
and pigs." 

Mr Holt, of East Haddam, Connecticut, has 
made some experiments in raising corn this 
way, for soiling ; and he has found that sixteen 
square rods of ground, sown with seed corn the 
twelfth of June, gave food and subsistence for 
a horse fifty days, and thirtythree days for a 
cow. An acre would, in this way, he thinks, 
feed thirty cows for a month. 

Oats. — Experiment upon this most valuable 
grain, has proved that it may be advantageously 
used as a variety in the food of hogs. Its meal 
seems peculiarly adapted to young pigs, and is 
frequently given them, combined with that of 



SWINE BREEDER. 215 

corn. Arthur Young speaks of this food in its 
natural state, as among the best grains for the 
younger class of hogs ; and the author of the 
article on swine in Rees's Encyclopedia, remarks 
that oats are certainly very useful for those ani- 
mals when coarsely ground and given in the 
form of wash, with water, or when made of a 
still thicker consistence. 

Says a correspondeut of the Cultivator, '' A 
farmer of our acquaintance, and who is celebra- 
ted for the weight of his hogs and the excel- 
lence of his pork, is in the habit of mixing oats 
with his corn before grinding, in the proportion 
of about one fourth, and thinks if he had not 
oats of his own, he should be a gainer in ex- 
changing corn, bushel for bushel with cats, 
rather than not have them to mix with his 
swine feed." 

The grain in its raw state is acceptable to 
them also, but the preferable mode is to grind 
and boil or steam it. Boiled oats, when min- 
gled with cut hay, have been found one of the 
best articles for fattening cattle expeditiously. 
The following experiment, is somewhat singular 
as regards the introduction of salt into the water 
where oats are boiling. Whether the same re- 
sults attended its mixture at that time with 
other grains, we are unable to say, — the matter, 
however, is one deserving some experiments. 
" A few weeks since," remarks a correspondent 
of the Farmer's Cabinet, " a farmer who was de- 
sirous of salting his cattle, injudiciously put 



216 THE AMERICAN 

about two quarts of salt into the boiler with the 
water and oats, and continued the boiUng for 
the usual length of time, but with a very differ- 
ent result from what he had before experienced. 
In his previous boiling operations, without salt, 
the oats were much swelled and enlarged ; but 
when the salt was present the grain refused to 
obey the usual law of absorption and enlarge- 
ment, and continued about of their usual dimen- 
sions ; the salt water remaining mixed with the 
oats in the boiler, but not absorbed by the grain. 
The first thought was, that the oats, being of a 
superior kind (the large potato oat) to that pre- 
viously used, which was the common oat usu- 
ally sown, the effect might be occasioned by 
the difference in the grain ; but on trial since, 
without the presence of salt, with the same 
kind of grain, the usual swelling and enlarge- 
ment took place. From this it appears evident, 
that salt or brine in some way produces the ef- 
fect of preventing the grain from absorbing the 
water." 

The Swine Oat — known as the Pilez or Pil- 
las of agriculture, and the Naked Oat^ or avena 
nuda of botanists, — is said, by a writer in Rees's 
Encyclopedia, to be cultivated to a considerable 
extent in Cornwall. It grows somewhat like 
the common oat, but the stem or straw is finer, 
and almost as good for hay as fodder. The 
grain is small, about the size of the common 
oat, but weighs as heavy as wheat by the bu- 
shel. This oat is an excellent article for pigs 



SWINE BREEDER. 217 

and poultry. When designed as food for the 
former, one gallon of it combined with twenty 
of potatoes, form a very rich and fattening mix- 
ture. It shonld be ground and finely incorpo- 
rated with the potatoes. The same writer ob- 
serves however, that in some of the little hov- 
els, or cottages, in the district Avhere this oat 
was cultivated, the custom prevailed of strew- 
ing the whole or unground grain over the tops 
of the potatoes while boiling, and that the 
steam which arose, caused the oats to swell 
considerably, and rendered the mess peculiarly 
acceptable to swine. 

The produce of the oat in flour, is generally 
regarded in the proportion of about 8 to 14, that 
is, 14 pounds of grain give 8 pounds of meal, 
although the proportional quantity of meal in- 
creases as the oats are heavier. According to 
Sir Humphrey Davy, " 100 parts of oats, give 
59 parts of starch, 6 of gluten, and 2 of saccha- 
rine matter." 

It is, however, as a variety^ and mingled with 
other articles, that oats are most advantageously 
fed to hogs — and the economy of their use in 
large quantities is questionable. 

jRye and Barley. — Both of these articles 
are used as food for hogs ; and their meal, like 
that of oats, may be frequently combined with 
other food advantageously. The meal of the 
former, is said to be peculiarly beneficial to 
young pigs, and calculated the preserve a 
healthy tone and action of the bowels. Barley 
15 



218 THE AMERICAN 

has long constituted one of the principal articles 
resorted to for feeding hogs in Europe, and is 
used for the same purpose to a considerable ex- 
tent in this country. We learn that the sole 
food emj)loyed by Mr Pattison, while fattening 
hogs in stall pens, to which we have heretofore 
alluded, was barley meal and water. One of 
the successful modes of preparing swine for 
market in England is, to commence with a 
mixture of two thirds of boiled or steamed po- 
tatoes, and one third of peas and barley, ground 
in equal quantities into meal ; and as the pro- 
cess continues, to diminish the former article, 
and add more of the latter. Malted barley 
given whole, has been found extremely benefi- 
cial in fattening hogs, as the quantity of sweet 
nutritious matter is greatly augmented. It is 
a food, however, generally best adapted to the 
elder class of pigs. The produce of barley in 
flour, is 12 pounds, to 14 pounds of grain, and 
1000 parts of barley meal are found by chemical 
analysis to contain 920 parts of soluble and nu- 
tritious matter, i. e. 790 of mucilage or starch, 
70 of sugar, and 60 of gluten. 

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 

Beans and Peas. — " The seeds of the cul- 
tivated legumes," says Loudon, " are consider- 
ed to be the most nutritious of vegetable suh- 
stances grown in temperate climates ;" and of 
these substances those which we have placed 



SWINE BREEDER. 219 

at the head of this division are undoubtedly the 
most nutritious. Beans and peas, form as 
large a portion of the food of hogs in Europe, as 
the maize or Indian Corn does in this country. 
It is a frequent practice, we are told by Low, in 
his Elements of Agriculture, to raise a quantity 
of peas with beans, generally about a half a 
bushel to the acre. This increases the value 
of the fodder, and greatly adds to the weight 
of the crop, and he adds, the grain of the bean 
is chiefly applied to the feeding of horses, 
though largely also to that of other domestic 
animals, and chiefly of hogs, in which latter 
case it is usually manufactured into a coarser 
kind of meal. " The meal of peas, according to 
Rees' Encyclopedia, when given to hogs, in the 
large quantities needed for fattening, are apt to 
heat them too much, and produce a difficulty of 
breathing ; but for the large or full grown hogs, 
pea meal, or peas unground are probably the 
best material that can be made use of. A por- 
tion of the bean meal, or whole beans may 
likewise be given occasionally with advantage, 
as both these articles contain a much larger pro- 
portion of nutritious matter in the same bulk, 
according to Darwin, than any other sort of 
grain, and are more lasting in their effect on the 
system. 

Oats and pea-soup, or the latter, are highly 
recommended by Mr Young, as the food of 
young swine. The mode of its preparation we 
have previously given in this chapter. 



220 THE AMERICAN 

We have met with several statements from' 
farmers in different portions of the United 
States, giving a detailed account of the good 
results arising from raising peas and beans to- 
gether, and admitting hogs into the pastures 
thus prepared, to harvest these articles when 
ripe. This is said to be the practice in some 
portions of New York, and recent experiments 
in Connecticut, show a considerable profit in 
raising spring wheat in connection with oats, 
for the purpose of feeding swine. 

The straw of both these articles is extremely 
nutritious, and esteemed by many, as much so 
as hay for horses. 

The flour of beans, says Loudon, is more nu- 
tritious than that of oats for horses, and accord- 
ing to the respective prices of the two articles, 
beans and peas generally supply a cheaper 
provender than oats for all domestic animals. 
'' In Leicestershire," says a writer, '' they have 
a very easy mode of fattening great numbers of 
swine, which they do by stacking up their 
peas and beans, which they shape like to the 
form of a small cottage. This they set near 
some running brook, and hedge a yard in round 
about it, taking some part of the stream into the 
yard for the hogs to drink at ; into which they 
turn such a number of hogs as they think their 
peas or beans will fat, where they let them lie 
till their provision is consumed, cutting the rick 
down and giving it to them as they can eat it. 
By this way, they fat very great numbers. 



SWINE BREEDER. 221 

which they dispose of at London to the navy 
for sea. Sycamore leaves, beaten dowu while 
green and given to the hogs, will fat them very 
quickly."* 

The produce of beans in meal, is, like that of 
peas, more in proportion to the grain than any 
of the cereal grasses. A bushel of beans in sup- 
posed to yield fourteen pounds more of flour 
than oats, and a bushel of peas eighteen pounds 
more, or according to some twenty pounds. A 
thousand parts of bean flour were found by Sir 
Humphrey Davy to yield 560 parts of nutritive 
matter, of which 426 were mucilage, 103 glu- 
ten, and 41 extract or matter rendered insoluble 
during the process. 

The produce of peas in flour, is as 3 to 2 of 
the bulk in gram, and when husked and split 
for soups as 4 to 2. An analysis of 1000 parts, 
gives 574 parts of nutritive matter, namely 501 
of mucilage, 22 of sugar, 35 of gluten, and 16 
of extract." 

Buckwheat. — This is another of the legumi- 
nous plants cultivated for the farina of its seeds, 
which as the author of the Elements of practi- 
cal Agriculture remarks, may be given to poul- 
try and to hogs. The buckwheat is a plant of 
very rapid growth, and can be raised with fa- 
cility on comparatively poor lands. Several 
writers recommend that it should be fed to hogs 



* Vide whole Art of Husbandry by J. Mortimer 5th edition. 
Lond. 1721. pp. 250— 251. 



222 THE AMERICAN 

as a green crop, and harvested in that manner. 
According to Loudon, the haulm of buckwheat 
is even more nourishing than clover when cut 
while in flower. Bannister says that it has a 
peculiar inebriating quality. He has seen hogs 
after having fed heartily on it, come home in 
such a state of intoxication, as to be unable to 
walk without reeling. We are induced to be- 
lieve that the value of Buckwheat straw as fod- 
der, is too generally underrated. A writer in 
the 6th volume of the Cultivator, observes upon 
this subject, " the nutrient properties of the 
stems of all grain, are believed to be somewhat 
in proportion to the number of their joints, in 
which these nutrient properties are principally 
secreted, and the care Avith which they have 
been preserved. Our buckwheat straw, after a 
frequent long exposure in the field has been 
suffered to heat and spoil, as forage would heat 
and spoil under like treatment, and has conse- 
quently been considered as worthless for food. 
More careful farmers have preserved it as they 
would their hay, and have found it, if not as rm- 
tritious, at least worth preserving as forage. 
That buckwheat straw properly cured abounds 
in nutrient matter, is evidenced by the fact that 
when ploughed in green, it affords an excellent 
pabulum for stocks." 

A correspondent of the Farmer's Cabinet, 
says, "A young Farmer asks us whether any 
use can be made of buckwheat straw ! We an- 
swer that it is better (?) for milch cows than the 



SWINE BREEDER. 223 

best timothy hay — that so far as the secretion 
of milk is concerned, it is infinitely preferable 
to any hay or fodder within our knowledge, and 
that when cut, boiled and steamed, it makes a 
more acceptable slop for the cows." 

This is certainly strong language, and 
although we are not prepared to follow the writ- 
er last quoted to the full length of his enconium, 
still we believe that this neglected article, if 
properly boiled or steamed, would be found ca- 
pable of affording much nutriment to swine, and 
prove particularly serviceable to sows with 
young. In this latter case, it might be as valu- 
able as lettuce or cabbages. It is certainly eco- 
nomical, and deserves experiment, as it secures 
the consumption of what is generally thrown 
away as refuse. 

Tares. — The Tare crop is not one of gener- 
al cultivation in this country, but in many parts 
of Europe, especially in Germany and England, 
it is cultivated to a great extent. The winter 
sown variety is said to afford most excellent 
■food for swine, when admitted to harvest it in 
the spring. All the English Agriculturalists, re- 
marks Low, are highly impressed with the val- 
ue of tares. They are peculiarly adapted to 
milch cows, and hogs in many cases are fattened 
entirely upon them. 



224 THE AMERICAN 

PLANTS CULTIVATED FOR THEIR 
ROOTS AND TOPS. 

The cultivation of root crops, is becoming 
more and more extensive from year to year in 
tiiis county, and these substances are certainly 
to be regarded as indispensable auxiliaries to 
other articles in the nourishment and fattening 
of swine, as well as various animals. These 
crops are generally cultivated with great ease, 
and yield great products. As the winter food 
of swine, they are truly invaluable, and will 
amply repay the farmer for raising them in large 
quantities. Attached to every large establish- 
ment for feeding hogs, there should be a cellar, 
sufficiently deep and dry for the storage and 
preservation of roots during winter. 

" Roots," remarks a writer in the Cultivator,* 
•' are less exhausting to the soil than grain ; 
they are admirably fitted to form a part of the 
course of crops ; are very beneficial in pulveris- 
ing the soil ; afford abundance of food for farm 
stock ; may be substituted for grain, and serve 
to augment and improve the valuable product 
of the cattle yard. An acre of ground under 
good cultivation, will produce on an average, 
twenty tons of Swedish turnips, mangel wur- 
zel, carrots, parsnips or potatoes ; and suppos- 
ing a lean animal to consume one bushel a 
day, and a fattening animal two bushels, the 

* Vol. 2, p. 2, 



SWINE BREEDER. 2^5 

produce of an acre will then subsist three lean 
bullocks 110 days, nearly the period of our win- 
ter, and three fattening ones 55 days." 

Roots enter largely into the feed given hogs, 
by the most successful breeders in our country, 
especially in the Eastern States. Mr Ingersoll, 
whose success in the rearing of these animals 
is indeed remarkable, states that he feeds year- 
ly, more than 5000 bushels of roots. We shall 
hereafter refer to the peculiar modes adopted by 
this distinguished breeder. His usual stock of 
hogs is about 150 ; and his farm consistsof mere- 
ly 21 acres, more than one of which is occupied 
with houses of various descriptions. 

Potatoes, are one the most valuable articles 
given as the food of swine, either in their grow- 
ing or fattening stage, and more generally enter 
into the various mixtures provided for these an- 
imals than any other of the vegetable sub- 
stances. They are used either in their raw or 
prepared state, but for young pigs should in 
general be boiled or steamed. It is the practice 
of many farmers to drain off, with considerable 
care, the water in which potatoes have been 
boiled, on account of a deleterious quality it is 
supposed to possess. We have met with sever- 
al statements in favor of the practice, and it is 
well known that the potato belongs to a poison- 
ous family of plants, the solanum. The course 
to which we have referred, however, is recom- 
mended especially in the feeding of young pigs, 
as those of more advanced age, and particularly 



'^6 THE AMERICAN 

growing stores, are not found to be injured by 
potatoes given in an uncooked state. That boil- 
ed potatoes, however, are best suited for the ex- 
peditious fattening of hogs, is verified, both-by 
the experiments of Mr Walker, reported to the 
Highland Society of Scotland, which we have 
given heretofore, and the testimony of nume- 
rous agriculturalists in this and other countries. 

Sinclair informs us* that potatoes yield much 
more nutritive matter per acre, than any other 
esculent ; one third more than carrots ; twice 
as much as ruta baga, and nearly three times as 
much as white turnips and mangel wurtzel. 

" But experience," remarks a writer in that 
"Valuable agricultural periodical, the Parmer's 
Hegister, " has not been found to support these 
refined calculations of Sinclair, however chemi- 
cally correct they may be ; but it may be taken 
as a fair statement that a crop of potatoes of 
400 bushels is double the best crop of Swedes ; 
affords twice as much nutritive matter, and con- 
sequently should keep twice as much stock." 

In the (Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, 
June, 1834, are given statements of the results 
of trials in feeding raw and steamed food, 
which are seen to be conclusive in favor of the 
former in feeding cattle, and of the latter for 
pigs, and we find 140 pounds of turnips and 84 
pounds of potatoes, yielding nearly the same 
increase of beef, keeping the relative value as 
two to one. 

* Vide Hortus Gramineus Woburnensis, p. 388. 



SWINE BREEDER, 22T 

While writing on the article potato, Mr Low- 
remarks that steamed food is not generally at- 
tended with the same benefit to rmninating as 
other animals, and that when thus prepared pota- 
toes are given to hogs with the greatest effect. 

The experiments of Mr Curwin, a distin- 
guished agriculturalist of England, prove con- 
clusively the great value of potatoes as food 
for stock. 

Carrots. It is the opinion of Mr Young 
that boiled carrots are not exceeded by any food 
for fattening hogs. The following various ex- 
periments are extracted from his '' Prize Essays 
on Rearing and Fattening Hogs, 

EXPERIMENT II. 

At the same time, (March 1765) with the 
preceding trial, four lots of pigs, that had been 
weaned three months, were equally drawn from 
my farm yard, five in each lot. They were 
confined as before, each lot to a stye, and 
cleaned at the same time ; their food was as 
follows. 

No. 1. Bran (wheat) mixed with milk. 

2. Boiled potatoes. 

3. Boiled carrots. 

4. Raw carrots. 

They were kept to this food thirty days and 
and then viewed as before with the same 
person. 

No. 3. Much the best, — ^boiled carrots. 



228 THE AMERICAN. 

No. 1. Next — bran and skim milk. 
2. Next — boiled potatoes. 
4. Worst — raw carrots. 
Boiled carrots appeared very clearly on this 
trial to be an admirable food for hogs of this 
age. Boiled potatoes appear also a good food. 

EXPERIMENT VI. 

In the month of December, 1766, twenty pigs 
that had been weaned a month, were draughted 
into four parcels and kept that month separate- 
ly in the following manner. 

No. 1. Boiled carrots. 

2. Boiled potatoes. 

3. Boiled turnips. 

4. Boiled cabbages. 

At the end of the month they were turned 
out and viewed attentively. The result was. 

No. 1. The best — boiled carrots. 
2. Next — boiled potatoes. 
3 and 4. Equal — all nearly dead. 

Carrots continue in every trial superior to all 
common vegetables. I am not surprised at the 
ill success of turnips and cabbages." 

Various other experiments are detailed by Mr 
Young, exhibiting similar results, but those 
quoted are sufficient for our purpose. Carrots, 
undoubtedly are one of the best articles which a 
farmer can raise as food for swine, and are fed 
with great economy. 

Turnips. Of the propriety of feeding the 



SWINE BREEDER. 229 

common turnip to swine, great doubts are en- 
tertained. They have been found useful to 
cattle, but the general results of experiments 
made with this article for hogs, are similar to 
those of Mr Young. This remark, however, 
does not apply in its full extent to the Ruta 
Baga or Swedish Turnip — a vegetable which is 
occasionally given to swine, as a variety^ with 
considerable advantage ; and whose adaptation 
to this purpose is strenuously advocated by 
many judicious farmers. Still the use of tur- 
nips, as a substitute for potatoes, carrots, pars- 
nips, and some other vegetables, will not in 
general be found an advantageous practice. 
The trial, however, is one easily made, and the 
article is one well adapted to inferior soils^ 
and yielding large returns. 

Cabbages. Some of the remarks made in 
regard to turnips are also applicable to cabbages, 
and from the great abundance of grain in this 
country we are not driven to their use, as are 
the English farmers. For sows with pigs, cab- 
bages are supposed to be good food, increasing 
in a high degree the secretion of milk. They 
are however best adapted for feeding in small 
quantities, and to vary other mixtures. Cab- 
bages are plants requiring considerable attention, 
and are great exhausters of the soil ; nor do they 
endure storing as well as turnips, and should 
consequently be consumed, nearly in proportion 
as they are pulled from the ground. 

Parsnips. '' The parsnip," remarks Low, 



230 THE AMERICAN 

^' in its uses and the manner of ciiltivating.it, re- 
sembles the carrot." The soils to which it is 
adapted are more various than those assigned to 
the carrot, and its general produce is considerably- 
larger. Hogs are extremely fond of it, and by 
some it is raised in large quantities for their use. 
Experiments have shown that carrots may be 
suffered to remain in the ground, during winter, 
sustaining little injury, and be taken up as food 
for hogs when their tops begin to sprout in the 
spring, and sufficiently early for the introduc- 
tion of an after crop. In this way, the double 
advantage of feeding toi)S and roots is easily 
attained. 

Mangel Wurtzel. This is another vegetable 
of the beet family, used to a considerable ex- 
tent, by many, as food for hogs. Notwithstand- 
ing its great nutritive powers, it is said to pro- 
duce surfeits when administered as the entire 
food of swine, or in too large quantities. It is 
an article, however, of which growing stores are 
extremely fond, and one which the farmer will 
find it for his interest to provide for their con- 
sumption. When land is properly prepared, and 
this vegetable receives due attention, 30,000 
plants are assumed as the yield per acre ; which, 
if they are averaged at three pounds each, (an 
estimate sufficiently low) will afford nearly 
thirty tons of firm, nutritious food. The too 
general practice of removing the leaves of this 
plant is erroneous, as a loss of about six per 
cent, of nutritive matter will in all such cases 
be incurred. 



SWINE BREEDER^ 231 

Sugar Beets have received much commen- 
dation from these who have used them for the 
purpose of fattening animals. " I have observ- 
ed in the Cultivator," says Mr Guthrie, " in 
a communication to C. N. Bement, Esq. of 
Albany, that you had great success last winter 
in wintering hogs on ruta baga. You have 
not probably given a trial to the sugar beet. 
From some experiments I am inclined to think 
that the French sugar beet will prove to be the 
best and most economical food for the hog to be 
found among the root tribe. I raised in the same 
enclosure, last summer, in the ratio to the 
amount of the ruta baga, of about 500 bushels, 
of carrots 937, and of French sugar beets the 
very large quantity of 2176 bushels to the acre^ 
The soil and advantages of culture the same in 
each. The ruta baga v/as greatly injured by 
insects, ivJiile the beet was ivithout mi enemy. 
The cost of the sugar beets, which by the 
way, were almost as white and smooth as hens' 
eggs, scarcely exceeded one cent per bushel. 
1 washed and sliced a quantity of ruta baga, 
carrots and beets, and fed all at once to my 
pigs, on a few occasions, and was induced to 
believe that the hogs gave the preference to the 
sugar beet. I am zealously preparing for the 
purpose, and intend to feed a few thousand 
bushels of French sugar beets another winter, 
at all times thoroughly steamed^ with a slight 
admixture of bran shorts and ground screenings, 
and I have no doubt but I shall winter a herd 



232 



THE AMERICAN 



of hogs in this way at less expense than has 
ever been heretofore done." 

The vakie of the cake remaining after sugar 
has been expressed is generally known. A calcu- 
lation made by M. Iznard, Esq., French Vice 
Consul at Boston, gives nearly 8000 pounds of 
this article as the product of a single acre, 
after sugar of the first and second qualities had 
been extracted ; and, owing to the extraction, 
by pressure, of the water contained in the origi- 
nal roots, this amount of cake is probaby more 
valuable than a similar weight of beets fed di- 
rectly from the field. 

In addition to the articles of food already no- 
ticed under their respective class, there are sev- 
eral others, deservinsr the attention of the far- 



mer. 



Pumpkins. These, as well as some other 
vegetables of the gourd tribe, are asserted by 
many to be an excellent food for hogs. As a 
variety they may undoubtedly be fed with great 
advantage ; mixed with apples they have been 
frequently found to fatten swine expeditiously. 
It is recommended by some that when pump- 
kins are fed to hogs in large quantities, their 
seeds should be extracted, to avoid the profuse 
staling which they otherwise occasion. 

Sunflower. Loudon and other agricultu- 
ral writers mention the sunflower as an article 
occasionally used in fattening hogs. With pro- 
per cultivation this article will yield 160 bush- 
els of seed per acre, and it is admirably adapted 



SWINE BREEDER. 233 

to exhausted soils. Its seeds are much relished 
by pouhry, cattle and hogs, and a tea made 
from it is excellent in catarrhal affections of 
these animals. Its leaves and stocks, in the 
green state, are prefered by cattle to grass, and 
when cut up and steamed or boiled with cotton 
seed or a little meat, afford a delicious nutriment 
to hogs. Like those of the parsnip, its stalks 
and leaves are aromatic to the taste but possess 
far greater sweetness. 

Flax. A correspondent of the New England 
Farmer, while writing on the value of tlax as 
food, remarks as follows. " Sometime in the 
month of February, my stock of hay was 
about all gone, and where to obtain more I 
could not tell. It could not be had short of 
twenty miles, and then at the price of $30 per 
ton." 

''One day I went to the stable, and no sooner 
had I entered than every eye was upon me for 
aid. You may imagine what my feelings were 
when I knew of no relief which I could be- 
stow. I stood awhile to reflect on what course 
to pursue or what to do. At last I thought of 
some flax which had been lying on the beams 
of my stable for several years which had not 
been rotted. I threw down a few bundles and 
gave some of the flax to my cattle. They took 
hold of it with such eagerness that I was 
obliged to take it from them, to prevent their 
being choked with it. I then took a block of 
wood and a broad axe, and chopped it up short, 
16 



234 THE AMERICAN 

gave a very little to my cattle and continued 
to do so until it was all gone. 

" Prom what I then discovered of the virtue 
of the oily substance flax contained, I am of 
opinion that what I could take up between my 
hands, after being chopped and given to a cow, 
would carry her through the foddering season. 
My opinion is that the bulk of one ton of hay 
in flax will be of more value to a stock of cattle 
than four tons of hay." 

Mr Nathaniel Landon, of Litchfield, Connec- 
ticut, says, that he boiled two quarts of flax 
seed, and sprinkled it on cut straw, which had 
been previously scalded, and seasoned with salt, 
together with some oil cake and oatmeal ; 
working them into a tub with a short pitchfork, 
until the whole became an oily mush. With 
this mixture he fattened several cattle, and is of 
the opinion that his nett gain was more than all 
he had cleared before for fifteen years, in rais- 
ing cattle and cows, and was to be attributed 
principally to the flax seed. 

The peculiar fattening properties of oil cake^ 
aside from the doubly rich dung it gives, are 
universally known ; and as food for hogs its use 
is very general. It is asserted, however, that in 
consequence of the high price at which corn is 
sold, Linseed Jelly is taking the place of it 
in England. The mode of preparing this jelly 
(and we recommend it highly to our readers,) is 
the following : — Take seven parts of water to 
one of flaxseed, and steep the latter in part of 



SWINE BREEDER. 235 

the water for forty-eight hours ; then add the 
remaiaing water cold, and boil gently two 
hours, stirring the mixture constantly to prevent 
its burning. It is cooled in tubs, and given 
mixed with meal, bran, &c. Hay, meal, and 
Hnsecd jelly, are accounted an excellent mixture 
for fattening hogs.* 

Artichokes are uncommonly nutritious, and 
can, doubtless, be cultivated with advantag(; for 
the food of hogs. In their raw state they are 
not in general acceptable to swine, but when 
steamed, are eagerly devoured in 'preference to 
potatoes. A writer in the London Farmers' 
Magazine, who instituted experiments to test 
the relative value of artichokes and potatoes, 
as affording nutriment to cattle, remarks, " One 
sack was consumed by a young calf at hand ; it 
ate them with avidity, and improved on them. 
I set them without cutting — measuring correctly 
the eighth part of an acre ; the produce was in 
proportion to 630 bushels per acre, the potato 
327 bushels. The following year (the memo- 
rable one of 1826), I planted half an acre on a 
piece of thin gravel — old tillage land, in its re- 
gular course of preparation for a vegetable crop 
after wheat ; they maintained their verdure 
through that extraordinary dry summer, and 
produced 150 bushels ; but the potatoes by the 
side of them were completely set fast ; they 
never formed a bulb. The year following I set 

*Vide JBordley's Essays on Husbandry, Phil. Ed. 1799. 



236 THE AMERICAN 

an acre on a part of the same kind of soil, but 
of better quality ; it produced 570 bushels, 
without a7iy dung. A half acre of the same 
land, with the usual quantity of dung for tur- 
nips, produced 290 bushels, (a bad compensa- 
tion fv)r eight loads of excellent dung.) This 
present year, an acre of the same land (part of 
my turnip-fallow), produced 576 bushels, but 
the wet state of the soil when taken up, and 
being a vegetable of uneven surface, which 
causes the soil to adhere to it more than to a 
potato, render it difficult to come at the exact 
quantity. From an experiment I have made of 
washing a sack, I can safely assert I have 530 
bushels of clean roots ; whilst the vegetables in 
our flat gravels do not equal this by full fifty per 
cent., except the potato, which produced 308 
bushels on the same soil. I never could raise 
more in favorable seasons." 

" The cultivation of the artichoke is the same 
as the potato, except that it requires to be set 
early, not later than March. If laid above 
ground all winter, it is proof against the sever- 
est frosts. When once cleaned, no weed can 
live in its dense shade ; horses, cattle and sheep, 
consume it with avidity ; pigs prefer a potato to 
it in its raw state, but prefer the artichoke when 
boiled or steamed." 

" If potatoes can be profitably cultivated as 
food for stock, compared with Swedish tur- 
nips, mangel wurtzel, the sugar beet, &c., 
the artichoke is vastly superior to them. The 



SWINE BREEDER. 237 

expense of culture is no more ; it is not liable 
to be injured by frosts ; can be taken up at 
pleasure ; it produces at least thirty per cent, 
more, and on poor land fifty per cent. ; is far 
more 7iufritioiis, and-'- leaves the land perfectly 
clean. The only objection that can be raised 
against their cultivation in competition with po- 
tatoes, is, that they require more care in taking 
them up. The frost not acting upon them so as 
to destroy vegetation, what are missed will, of 
course, grow among the succeeding crop ; but 
little inconvenience will result in this respect." 

We should be much gratified to learn the re- 
sults of accurate experiments in feeding this nu- 
tritious article to swine. In the western por- 
tions of our Union, especially where large 
quantities of artichokes are frequently found 
growing in a wild state, and scattered over ex- 
tensive tracts, the trial might easily be made, 
and their virtues, when boiled or steamed, cor- 
rectly ascertained. If useful at all, they will 
undoubtedly be found so in a high degree. 

Acorns. — The value of these articles for 
swine, and the avidity with which they devour 
them, are generally known. It is stated by the 
author of Modern Agriculture, that in many 
parts of the forest districts of England, beech 
mast, and acorns are much used, not only 
as food for growing hogs, but also as a means of 
fattening them. In the former case, hogs are 
driven into the woods, and allowed to range 
for a considerable portion of the year, as Avell as 



238 THJE AMERICAN 

in autumn ; in the latter, those intended for 
slaughter at the end of the year, are brought 
home from the forests soon after the fall of the 
acorn and beech mast is over ; they are then 
put into styes, and their fattening is completed 
with* the same sort of food— a great quantity of 
which is collected by poor people, and sold to 
the farmer for the purpose. They are esteemed 
as especially useful when mixed with beans and 
peas and barley meal. 

We are not aware of any experiment as yet, 
in boiling or steaming acorns before they are 
fed to hogs. Such experiments, however, are 
well worthy the attention of farmers, and par- 
ticularly of those residing in the western 
states, where immense quantities of these arti- 
cles, as well as the beech mast, can be obtained 
with a slight trouble in gathering. If they are 
to be fed for the purpose of fattenmg swine, it 
is certainly advisable that they should be col- 
lected and given to these animals in their pens ; 
thus securing that rest which is deemed neces- 
sary to the most expeditious increase in flesh, 
and avoiding the numerous accidents which at- 
tended the questionable practice of allowing 
large herds of hogs to run at large. We pre- 
sume that all kinds of acorns will be found of 
equal use, though those of the white oak have 
in general been preferred. 

Distiller's Grains are used extensively 
in this and other countries for the purpose of 
fattening animals. '• It is stated," says the 



SWINE BREEDER. 239 

author of the article on swine, in Rees's Ency- 
clopedia, ^' that in the county of Surrey between 
nine and ten thousand hogs are fattened annually 
on the grains, wash, and other offals of three dis- 
tilleries only in that district. In the first stage 
of fattening they are only allowed grains and 
wash ; but for some weeks before they are 
ready for market, they are permitted to have 
daily a certain quantity of meal or grain ; this 
not only brings them faster forward, but ren- 
ders their flesh firmer, and better adapted for 
curing as salt provisions." 

But the same writer thinks that perhaps of 
all the modes in which hogs are fattened, that 
adopted at the corn mills and starch works is 
the best ; while the food on which the hogs are 
fattened (the refuse of grains) is freest from any 
nauseous mixture ; and more nutritive than any 
other that is applied to the same use. '' It is de- 
sirable also," he continues, " to correct an error 
too generally believed, that the malt-distillery 
pork is not good ; the hogs, it is asserted, being 
kept in a state of intoxication ; whereas the 
contrary is the fact. It is notorious, that the 
best pork for sea voyages is that from the malt 
distillers, who always finish them with hard 
meat ; and it is equally certain that the best ba- 
con in the kingdom is made from those hogs, 
and he would be a bad workman who left spi- 
rit enough in his wash to make his hogs drunk. 
It, indeed, is not probable that this prejudice is 
well founded, since upon inquiry it has been 



240 THE AMERICAN 

found, that the hogs fatted at the distilleries 
fetch the same price, both at the bacon mer- 
chant's and victualUng office, as any others."* 

Hay Tea.— The use of hay tea in the store- 
feeding of hogs, we learn has been attempted 
by Mr Saunders, of Stroud, Gloucestershire, 
with much success.f He was led to the use of 
this liquid from considering its effects in wean- 
ing calves. In his experiments, as stated in the 
Agricultural Magazine, the sorts of hay made 
use of were clover, sanfoin, and lucerne, and 
he thickened the tea or wash, indiscriminately, 
with either grains, or bran, or pollard, or any 
kind of meal, or boiled cabbages, or boiled po- 
tatoes, (carrots, though excellent, he had none,) 
sometimes adding two or more of these articles, 
as his stock of either most enabled him. And 
he had the great satisfaction to find, that he 
made a single sack of boiled potatoes, when 
mixed Avith this tea, and without any other in- 
gredient, go as far as four or five sacks — 
though boiled, — when he gave them to the pigs 
alone ; and the expense of the loash, thickened 
with potatoes, was considerably loiaer than the 
potatoes alone. 

With the view of showing the practicabihty 
of prosecuting the plan individually upon a larger 
scale, he gradually increased his stock to up- 
wards of four hundred ; and in the course of 
his experiments, he used nearly fifteen hundred 

* Vide Rees's Encyclopedia, article swine. t Ibid. 



SWINE BREEDER. 



241 



hogsheads of the wash, consuming, when his 
stock was at the highest, about five hogsheads 
daily. And, incredible as it may appear, he 
maintained them, collectively, at the very low 
rate of 07ie peniiy a head per day ; in excellent 
store order, and many of them fit for the 
butcher. 

It deserves particular attention, he says, that 
in a week or fortnight after he commenced his 
experiments, the pigs which he had before been 
feeding with potatoes alone, improved in their 
coats, which, from looking coarse, assumed a 
gloss, and became fine and short ; a proof surely, 
it is thought, of the great nutrition of the food, 
and of its perfectly agreeing with the hogs. Nor 
is it less remarkable, he observes, that this vora- 
cious animal, though fed with this food but 
twice a day (which he prefers to oftener), would 
lie down contented for the remainder, provided 
he was well ringed, and had a warm and dry 
place to shelter himself under. And this he at- 
tributes to the following causes, besides the nu- 
tritive power of the wash. He found it benefi- 
cial to store the potatoes in large casks (in 
which, he conceives, they would keep good 
above a twelvemonth,) and when they had re- 
mained in them some time, freed from the water 
they were boiled in — which is considered nox- 
ious, — they not only went further, but they 
generated a spirit ; and the wash being also, as 
he apprehends, of considerable strength, they 
disposed the animal to betake himself to lest, 



242 THE AMERICAN 

from their soporific and intoxicating qualities ; 
a circumstance evidently conducive to his 
quicker growth. 

Nor can an objection be raised, it is supposed, 
to this food when apphed to the flesh of the 
animal. So far from possessing any pernicious 
quality, it communicates perhaps a richer and 
more delicate flavor to the pork and bacon, than 
they receive when fed after the common mode ; 
and the butchers and others, not only eagerly 
purchased his pigs, but commonly remarked, 
that they rapidly improved when put up to fat- 
ten. And hence, he says, arises another most 
important consideration. He is confident he 
could make one sack of meal, of whatever de- 
scription, go as far as two sacks in the common 
mode of fattening. For by gradually thicken- 
ing the wash with meal, it forms the best intro- 
duction to the higher and last stages of fatten- 
ing, both for pork and bacon ; indeed, this 
method should be followed throughout the pro- 
cess, using the wash instead of water. The 
increased quantity of a cheap and highly nutri- 
tious food, thus administered, will satisfy the 
voracious habits of this animal, and yield the 
greatest profit ; and this alone would cause an 
immense annual saving of corn, which would 
tend to ensure plenty and cheapness ; the grand 
desiderata in all experiments. 

He further observes, that clover or sainfoin 
hay, at £4 13s. Ad. per ton, is 45. 8d. per hun- 
dred, and one halfpenny per pound ; and that 



SWINE BREEDER. 243 

twenty pounds of either when boiled, will make 
with the addition of the incorporating ingredi- 
ents, sufficient wash or food to maintain 
throughout the day fifty store pigs, from 
three months old to an indefinite age upwards. 

It is remarked that carrots either raw or boil- 
ed are excellent, and these with oat meal and 
grains, would make a cheap and good addition. 
The hay when put into the furnace to boil 
should be enclosed in a net, or basket, with a 
lid to it, or in a tin kettle and cover, filled with 
large holes ; while the potatoes or carrots, &c. 
should be steamed over the hay tea while gently 
boihng or simmering. This may easily be 
done by fitting to the furnace a vessel having a 
number of holes of the size of a common auger 
bored through the bottom of it, so as to allow 
the steam to pass through the potatoes, with 
which the vessel is filled ; and having a little 
moist clay, or a wet flannel, or cloth put circu- 
larly around the bottom, when it rests on the 
mouth of the furnace, so as to secure the steam 
from escaping. By this mode of steaming the 
potatoes, a considerable saving will be made in 
fuel. 

The potatoes should be slightly steamed or 
boiled, and not reduced to pulp, and while hot, 
should be trod or rammed in casks for future 
use. The hay, after boiling, may be dried 
and perhaps offered to the store cattle, or else 
thrown to the pigs as litter, or to add to the 
dung heap. The wash should be carefully 



244 THE AMERICAN 

given to pigs in a luke-ioarm state, and if meal 
be added, it should be thrown into the tub, or 
cooler, immediately after boiling the wash, and 
both should be well mixed together ; but steam- 
ing the meal and even the grains, might be a 
still further improvement. The water, where 
there is sufficient fall, may be led into the fur- 
nace without any trouble whatever, by means 
of a leaden pipe ; or may be conveyed into the 
furnace by a spout from the pump ; and the tea 
may be drawn off through a cock into a cooler, 
which should be placed by the side of the fur- 
nace. To carry the wash to the pigs, use is 
made of an open barrel or hogshead suspended 
upon a pair of shafts, with wheels to it, and 
drawn by a single horse. 

But it is added, that in the estimates of the 
expense of maintaining the pigs, it should be 
observed that no credit is allowed for the arti- 
cle of manure, and thus they will make the 
farmer a present of their dung, as well as pay 
him a good price for their keep. Fifty strong 
stores with a sufficient quantity of stubble, or car- 
penter's shavings, or saw dust, or virgin earth, or 
sand, especially sea sand where obtainable, laid 
down in the yard, will make, he says, in the 
course of the year, from two to three hundred 
wagon loads of excellent manure. The sea 
sand will add saline particles to the manure, 
and check evaporation. And another favorable 
circumstance is, that the hay-tea hinds the dung 
of swine, and renders it hard and black, like 



SWINE BREEDER. 245 

sheep's dung ; and if it does not produce this 
effect, it must assuredly be either bad in qual- 
ity, or not properly boiled, or not rendered suffi- 
ciently strong ; all which particulars should be 
most carefully attended to ; and the state of the 
dung is an excellent guide to go by. The hay 
should be of an excellent quality ; and that 
which is heated best and contains most of the 
saccharine juices should have the preference. 
Bad hay is certain destruction to the pigs. 
Clover stands first, next sainfoin, and lastly, 
meadow hay. Indeed, most of the experi- 
ments we made, he says, (though not by 
choice) with meadow hay. 

Loudon, in his valuable Encyclopedia of Ag- 
riculture, gives the following directions for the 
preparation of hay tea. " Boil at the rate of a 
handful of hay to three gallons of water, or if 
the water be poured boiling hot on the hay it 
will answer nearly as well. Give to cattle and 
horses to drink, when cold ; or if the cattle and 
horses are any way ill, and under cover, give it 
to them blood warm. This drink is so ex- 
tremely nutritive, that it nourishes cattle aston- 
ishingly, replenishes the udder of the cow with 
a prodigious quantity of milk, makes the horse 
stale plentifully, and keeps him healthy and 
strong." 

In these remarks, reference is had rather to 
the occasional and medicinal use of hay-tea. 
The directions necessary for its preparation as 
food for hogs, it is beheved have been exhibit- 



246 THE AMERICAN 

ed with sufficient clearness. It appears from 
the statements of Mr Saunders, that the hay used 
in his experiments was rated at a value of more 
than $20 per ton, and the results of its adminis- 
tration in tea, even at that price, are indeed as- 
tonishing. But in many portions of this coun- 
try the price of hay is often less than half of the 
sum mentioned ; and the cost of feeding it to 
hogs would be proportionably reduced. At a 
cost of $10 per ton, the quantity assumed by 
the experimenter as sufficient, when combined 
with the articles mentioned, for the full suste- 
nance of fifty store hogs daily, could be furnish- 
ed at the extremely low price of one half a cent 
per pound, or 10 cents for the whole : and in 
many cases for two thirds, even of this small 
amount. And the same quantity calculated as 
the daily food of a horse (28 pounds) would 
support, when properly prepared with carrots, 
artichokes or potatoes, this large number of 
pigs for 24 hours, or one pig for fifty days. 

It is suggested for the consideration of farm- 
ers in the Western States, whether advanta- 
geous results might not be anticipated from the 
use of hay-tea, prepared from the wild or prai- 
rie grasses. Though considered, and deserved- 
ly so, inferior to any of the cultivated kinds, 
they still form most of the nourishment provid- 
ed on many farms for the consumption of stock 
throughout the winter. The experiment at all 
events, in regard to clover, and other superior 
grasses, is one richly deserving the attention of 
the economical stock raiser. 



SWINE BREEDER. 247 

Apples. It is remarked by a correspondent 
of one of our most valuable periodicals, that 
" the feeding of apples in rearing and fattening 
animals is one of the successful and happy in- 
novations of the age ;" and the experiments of 
many on this subject truly exhibit the most 
flattering results. The editor of the Monthly 
Genesee Farmer,* under the head of "Apples 
for fattening hogs," remarks as follows. "Al- 
though the attention of our readers has been 
before called to this subject, we believe its im- 
portance is too little appreciated generally and 
we shall lay a few more facts before them, 
showing the advantages of employing apples as 
food for fattening hogs over other substances. 
We shall first endeavor to show that they are a 
valuable kind of food, and secondly a cheap 
one." 

" First, with regard to their value. A corres- 
pondent of the Maine Farmer, in 1834, made 
the following experiment. He commenced 
feeding his hogs on apples in August. A pig 
four months old and weighing ninetyfive pounds, 
was fed eighteen days as follows. First two 
bushels of sour apples boiled with six quarts of 
oats and pea meal, weighing four and a half 
pounds, were given him. At the end of six 
days he had gained six pounds. He was then 
kept six days on the same quantity of boiled 
sweet apples and meal, at the end of which 

* Vol. i, 145, 146. 



248 THE AMERICAN 

time he had gained sz^ pounds more. He Avas 
next fed on an equal quantity of boiled potatoes 
and meal, and at the end of six days he had 
gained only five pounds. Here the superiority 
of both sweet and sour apples over potatoes was 
decisively shown." 

"A correspondent of this paper at Lock port, in 
a communication last winter, states that he shut 
up seven hogs about fourteen months old, on the 
first of October ; they were in poor condition 
and estimated to weigh about 150 pounds each, 
and worth in the market two and a half cents 
per pound. They were fed fifty days on ap- 
ples, mostly sour, boiled with a small quantity 
of water, with the addition of a bushel of bran 
and a pint of salt, to three bushels of apples. 
At the end of fifty days they were fed with 
twelve and a half bushels of soft corn in the 
ear, and afterwards slaughtered. The average 
weight of each was 272 pounds. Estimating 
the apples at twentyfive cents a bushel, the 
bran at six cents and the corn at sixty two and 
a half, the whole expense was $77 ^5, and the 
pork at $6 25 per cent., |119, leaving a clear 
profit of $41 45. 

These experiments, it will be observed, were 
with cooked apples. The practice has also suc- 
ceeded when they have been fed in a raw state, 
though the latter is not as profitable, except on 
a very small scale, when the trouble and ex- 
pense of cooking would be comparatively great. 



SWINE BREEDER. 249 

In the following experiments the apples were 
given uncooked. 

"A correspondent in Onondaga Gonnty, tvn-ned 
thirty hogs, and from thirty to forty shoats and 
pigs, into an orchard of 400 trees aboat the 15th 
of September, and they remained there until 
the latter part of November, when they were 
slaughtered, with the exception of twelve dol- 
lars worth sold alive, and about a dozen retained 
as store pigs. They yielded about 4,450 pounds 
of first rate pork, fattened on apples wlioUy, 
without any grain. This was the fourth ex- 
periment of the kind made by the writer, all of 
which were attended with complete success." 

In the fourth volume of the Genesee Parmer, 
S. P. Rhoades, of Skeneateles, says : ''A friend 
from Massachusetts informs me that he shut up 
a hog by himself, and fed him entirely on 
apples and water ^ last fall, and that he became 
very fat, was well filled, and the pork was hard 
and sweet as that fed on corn. He also states 
that when turned into an orchard where there 
are both sour and sweet apples a hog will eat 
about as much of one as of the other." 

In the Brattleboro' Messenger a correspondent 
says : "A man in Guilford, conversing on this 
subject, said to me, ' There is a hog that will 
weigh over two hundred ; I brought it home in 
July on my back. I have given it nothing but 
apples and a little slop for drink.' " 

Secondly, with regard to the cheapness of 
this kind of food. This may perhaps be best 
17 



250 THE AMERICAN 

determined by calculation. We will snppose 
that an orchard is planted on an acre of ground, 
and the trees stand at a distance of tweiityfive 
feet asunder, which would not be too near 
where they are merely intended for this pur- 
pose. This would give about seventy trees to 
the acre. The trees, at twentyfive cents each, 
would cost $18 75 ; and the expense of plant- 
ing, supposing each tree to cost ten cents each, 
would be $7. While the trees are small the 
land may be tilled and will produce as much as 
before ; and from the time they begin to bear, 
they may be considered as paying for the ground 
they occupy by their fruit. Such an orchard, 
therefore, in a good bearing state would cost as 
follows : 

One acre of land, . . . $50 00 
Seventy trees, .... 18 75 
Planting, 7 00 



$75 75 
The annual interest cm this sum, at seven per 
cent., would be $5 30, which would be the 
actual expense of each crop, as the pasture of 
the ground would pay for gathering. If each 
tree bears on an average five bushels a year, 
(this is a low estimate if the most productive va- 
rieties are selected) the animal crop would be 
three hundred and fifty bushels, which, accord- 
ing to the preceding calculation, would be at 
the rate of one cent and a half a bushel. Esti- 
, mating the cost at double this, the clear profit 



SWINE BREEDER. 251 

in the second experiment before stated, in- 
stead of being $41 45, would actually be 
#74 75. 

One of our neighbors last year, made forty 
dollars, from a small orchard of about an acre, 
Dy fattening hogs, and reserved a large supply 
of apples for winter and other use. 

A writer in the Farmer's Register remarks : 
•^ Hogs care nothing for corn if they can get 
a])ples ; if sweet, the apples may be given 
Avithout boiling ; if sour, they must be boiled. 
Mixed with corn meal the flesh is firmer." 

These are only few of numerous expcsri- 
ments, exhibiting the same results, which, did 
our linn"ts allow, we could easily place before 
our readers. We have met with several state- 
ments of the great nourishment derived from ap- 
ple pomace^ generally esteemed as worthless, 
but wdiich was advantageously used by a cor- 
respondent of the Cultivator, in fattening 
hogs.* 

Owing to the general scarcity of orchards 
in the Western States, the use of apples as 
food for stock cannot at present be extensive. 
The calculations given by the editor of the 
Monthly Genesee Farmer, arc, however, worthy 
the attention of stock raisers in that portion of 
our country, for while the original cost of the 
trees may be more than the estimate given 
in the Cultivator referred to, that of the land 
will be dimished in many cases four fifths. 

* Vide Cultivator, i, p. 152. 



252 THE AMERICAN 



CHAPTER VI. 

Exiiihilion of ihe rnocies y:)iirsiic.] liy v:iiioiis distiuguished Iireed- 
ers, ill the management of swine — Diseases of swine, and their 
remedies — Manner ol killing hotji; — Curing hams — Erection of 
smoke houses— Packing pork, 6i.c. &c. 

In continuance of our remarks ia the preceding 
chapter, we proceed to an exhibition of the various 
modes pursued by successful breeders, in the man- 
agement and fattening of swine. 

" One of the best establishments," remarks Mr 
Colman in his Second Report on the Agriculture of 
Massachusetts, " for fattening swine, I found in 
Great Barrington. This farmer, whose whole man- 
agement is excellent, fatted, the year before last, 
twenty four large hogs. The current year he has 
fatted twenty five, and their average weight was 318 
pounds ! Whole weight, 7950 pounds. His mode of 
fatting swine deserves attention. As soon as the 
pastures will afford a good bite of grass, he turns 
them in where they can have plenty of clover and 
water. He is careful to salt them once a week, or 
oftener, if the season is wet ; and changes th m 
from one pasture to another, as he does sheep or 
other stock, which is of much importance during the 
summer. As soon as he gathers his harvest, he gives 
them the stubble. When it is well gleaned, he 
gives them corn cut up by the ground for a few days, 
as it is dangerous to keep them closely shut up and 
feed them highly in the beginning ; having no exer- 
cise, it tends to produce the blind staggers. In order 
to remedy this, they must be put on thin feed and 
have as much salt as they will eat. He commences 



SWINE BREEDER. 253 

steaming potatoes, for his hogs the first of October ; 
his ruta bagas not being then matured ; he mashes 
them fine, puts nothing with them but the sour milk 
from six cows, and four quarts of salt to a box of 
twenty eight bushels. This feed he continues three 
weeks. Afterward he commences steaming ruta 
baga, and continues this feed until the first of De- 
cember, which is five weeks. He puts with the 
ruta baga, after being mashed fine, four quarts of 
salt, and three bushels of oats and peas, ground to- 
gether into a box containing twenty eight bushels. 
On this feed they do extremely well. This feed he 
continues until the 25th of December, and then fin- 
ishes off with meal and corn. The free use of salt 
is unquestionably of much advantage. 

" A very successful fattener of swine in another 
county, whose authority in this matter is decisive, is 
in the habit of boiling corn in a large vessel, and 
with the mixture putting in a feio quarts of wood 
ashes. The proportions I cannot exactly ascertain ; 
but he considers its use once a day of great benefit 
to the health and appetite of his swine. He is care- 
ful likewise to put charcoal into their styes once a 
week. A finer stock of swine or a finer display of 
fatting swine, I have never seen, than I have seen 
at this farmer's place, which is certainly a conclu- 
sive test of the excellence of his management."* 

" The practice in Scotland," remarks Fessenden, 
^^ is to rear swine chiefly on raw potatoes, and to fatten 
them on these roots, boiled or prepared by steam, 
with a mixture of oats, barley, or bean and pea 
meal. Their trough should be often replenished 
with a small quantity of food at a time, and kept al- 
ways clean, and seasoned occasionally with salt." 

* Vide Second Report on Agriculture of Massachusetts. 



254 THE AMERICAN 

If one wishes to fatten hogs, and either from in- 
dolence or too much occupation, does not expect to 
give them a constant and regular attention, perhaps 
he may adopt to advantage the following mode point- 
ed out by an English writer. 

" Mr John Adams of Cherrington, near Newport, 
Shorpshire, has fattened eight pigs in the following 
cheap and easy manner. He places two troughs in 
tVie sty; one he fills with raw potatoes, the other 
with peas, and gives no water ; when the pigs are 
dry, they eat the potatoes. The eight pigs were 
fattened so as to weigh from sixteen to twenty score 
each, and ate no more than thirty bushels of peas, 
and about two hundred bushels of potatoes." 

Another writer says, " they fatten all their pork 
in the island of Jersey with parsnips. They are 
much more saccharme than carrots, and it is well 
known that nothing fattens a hog faster or makes 
finer pork than the sugar cane." 

Cunningham, in his ' Two Years in New South 
Wales,' relates, " I have often heard it said among 
sailors that pigs v/ould fatten on coal^ and although 
I have observed them very fond of munching up the 
coals and cinders that came in their way ; still I 
conceived they might relish them more as condi- 
ment or medicine, than food, till I was assured by 
a worthy friend of mine, long in command of a ship, 
that he once knew of a pig being lost for several 
weeks in a vessel he commanded, and it was at last 
found to have tumbled into the coal hole, and there 
lived all that period without a single morsel of any- 
thing to feed upon but coals. On being dragged out 
it was found as plump and fat as if it had been 
feasting on the most nutritious food. When we con- 
sider coal however to be a vegetable production, con- 



SWINE BREEDER. 255 

taining the constituent principles of fat, carbon, hy- 
drogen and oxygen, our surprise will decrease." 

An Ohio farmer, also recommends coals as useful 
in fattening hogs. After giving his hogs a small 
quantity daily, say two pieces to each, about the size 
of a hen's egg, they discontinued rooting, were 
more quiet and appeared to fatten faster. He omit- 
ted the coal a few days, and they commenced root- 
ing ; he gave it again, and they ceased to root. He 
supposes that the coal corrects the morbid fluid in 
the stomach, which incites them to root deep in 
search of fresh earth. 

The following mixture for fattening swine has 
been recommended. " Wash potatoes clean, boil and 
mash while hot, mix at the same time oats and pea 
meal ; put the mixture into a large tub, which must 
stand till it becomes sour, but not putrid, and keep a 
quantity of this on hand, always fermenting, and 
give it to your hogs as often as they will eat."* 

We have several times alluded to a custom exist- 
ing in the Western states, of turning large herds of 
hogs into a corn field, for the purpose of fatting them. 
The following letter from the Hon. O. H. Smith, of 
Indiana, will explain the practice still more fully.t 

" A statement of my own operations, for a few 
years past, will partly illustrate the process adopted 
in that part of Indiana where I reside, in the pork 
business. I have had in cultivation in corn, for sev- 
eral years past, 160 acres of river bottom lands. 
The most of these lands have been in cultivation in 
corn about fifteen years, without intermission and 
without manure. The average crop has been since 

*Complete FaTmd>, p. 162. tVide "Upper Wabash Va'lev." 
by li. W. Ellsworth, p. 39. 40. 



256 THE AMERICAN 

I have tilled them, about 65 bushels of corn to the 
acre. I plant my corn generally, about the first of 
May ; it is laid by about the middle of July, and by 
the middle of September, it is sufficiently hard to 
commence the feeding of my hogs. At this time, 
I purchase, of those who raise them, the stock re- 
quired to eat of my corn : say about 3 1-2 hogs to 
the acre, which is about the proper number to eat an 
acre of corn in thirteen weeks, the usual time al- 
lowed to make our pork from ordinary stock hogs. 

"My course of feeding is this. My fields con- 
tain from 20 to 30 acres each, all well watered. At 
the proper season I turn my hogs into a field, and 
after it is eaten off clean, I pass them into another, 
and so on, until I have fed ofi* my crop, when my 
hogs are ready for market. The profits of the 
operation depend much on the price and quality of 
the stock, and the price pork may bear in the mar- 
ket. But, for several years past it has been an ex- 
cellent agricultural business. When I first com- 
menced feeding this kind of stock a few years ago, 
I very naturally supposed, that, by turning them into 
the field of ungathered corn, great waste would be 
the inevitable consequence, and I had my corn pull- 
ed and fed to them in a dry lot. But I soon became 
satisfied, by inspecting the operations of my neigh- 
bors, who had been for years in the business, that 
my labor, and expenses of feeding in this manner, 
were entirely thrown away, and I abandoned it. Hogs 
gather corn in the fields, with little or no waste, pro- 
vided the fields or lots in which they are fed, are 
proportioned in size to the number of hogs fed upon 
them, which should be in the proportion of 100 hogs 
to five or six acres of corn. The hogs should be 
regularly salted^ while feeding, and running water 



SWINE BREEDER. 257 

should be accessible at all times to them. By feed- 
ing in this way, I found that my hogs improved more 
rapidly, and my lands increased in value yearly, al- 
though I never put a shovel full of manure on 
them. 

" Being much from home, and not having a dispo- 
sable force to tend or farm my land, I have for years 
paid $3 50 per acre for tending it, the persons 
farming the corn being at all the expenses. This is 
about a fair compensation for such services." 

Ellas Phinney, Esq. of Lexington, Mass., in cor- 
responding with the Hon. H. L. Ellsworth, of Wash- 
ington, remarks as follows. 

" I have been for a number of years engaged in 
the rearing and fattening of swine, and my estab- 
lishment is viewed as one of considerable magni- 
tude, when compared with others in this part of the 
country, but when compared with those in the West- 
ern States, it must be very diminutive. A late wri- 
ter, in the Yankee Farmer, which you may have no- 
ticed, has greatly exaggerated the profits of my pig- 
gery. The average price of corn in this market is 
$i per bushel, and potatoes, 33 cents; — at these 
prices my sales of pork have always exceeded the 
expense of keeping, and given me a handsome pro- 
fit, besides the manure taken from my sties, which 
is of great value on my farm, — usually not less than 
500 cart loads annually. 

" In some cases, my best pigs, upon 4 quarts of 
Indian meal, with an equal quantity of potatoes, ap- 
ples or pumpkins, well cooked, have been made to 
gain two pounds a day. At this rate, it may be 
seen, there is a profit in fattening pork at the above 
price of grain. 

" The older class of pigs for the first ten or twelve 



258 THE AMERICAN. 

months, are kept principally upon brewers' grains, 
with a small quantity of Indian or barley meal, or 
rice, ruta baga, sugar beet, &c., and in the season 
of clover, peas, oats, cornstalks, weeds, &c., they 
are cut green and thrown into the pens ; the next 
four or five months before killing, they have as much 
Indian meal, barley meal or rice, with an equal 
quantity of potatoes, apples or pumpkins as they 
will eat, the whole being well cooked and salted, 
and given to them about blood warm. During the 
season of fattening, an ear or two of hard corn is 
every day given to each pig. This small quantity 
they will digest well, and of course there is no 
waste. Shelled corn soaked in water made as salt 
as the water of the ocean, for 48 hours, with a quart 
of wood ashes added to each bushel, and given to 
them occasionally in small quantities, greatly pro- 
motes their health and growth. Their health and 
appetite is also greatly promoted by throwing a hand- 
ful of charcoal once or twice a week into each of 
their pens. Their principal food should, however, 
be cooked as thoroughly and as nicely as if intend- 
ed for table use. From long practice and repeated 
experiments, I am convinced that two dollars worth 
of material, well cooked, will make as much pork as 
three dollars worth of the same material given in a 
raw state. 

" If intended for killing at the age of nine or ten 
months, they should be full fed all the time and kept 
as fat as possible. If on the other hand they are 
intended for killing at the age of 15 or 18 months, 
they should not be full fed, nor be made very fat for 
the first 10 or 12 months. 

" To satisfy myself of the benefit of this course, I 
took six of my best pigs, eight weeks old, all of the 



SWINE BREEDER. 259 

Same litter, and shut them in two pens, three in 
each. Three of these I fed very high and kept 
them as fat all the time as they could be made. 
The other three were fed sparins^ly, upon coarse 
food, but kept in a healthy, growing condition, till 
within four or five months of the time of killing, 
when they were fed as high as the others. They 
were all slaughtered at the same time, being then 
sixteen months old. At the age of nine months, the 
full fed pigs were much the heaviest, but at the time 
of killing, the pigs fed sparingly, for the first 10 or 
12 months weighed, upon an average, fifty pounds 
each, more than the others. Besides this additional 
weight of pork, the three " lean kine" added much 
more than the others to my manure heap. — These 
results would seem very obvious to any one who has 
noticed the habits of the animal. In consequence of 
short feeding they were much more active and in- 
dustrious in the manufacture of compost, and this 
activity at the same time caused the muscles to en- 
large and the frame to spread, while the very fat 
pigs became inactive, and like indolent bipeds, they 
neither worked for their own benefit nor for that of 
others. 

" For the purpose of increasing my manure heap, 
my pens are kept constantly supplied with peat or 
swamp mud, about three hundred loads of which 
are annually thrown into my styes. This, with the 
manure from my horse stable, which is daily thrown 
in, and the weeds and coarse herbage which are 
gathered from the farm, give me about 500 cart 
loads of manure in a year." 

The method pursued by Mr Ingersoll, to whose 
experience and success in rearing and fattening 
swine, we have heretofore alluded, will be best un- 



260 THE AMERICAN 

derstood, from his correspondence with the editor of 
the American Farmer ; from which paper we ex- 
tract the following remarks. 

" I am fully satisfied, from repeated trials, that a 
fine race of animals cannot be kept up by breeding 
in and in ; and I have,fliboth in my sheep and swine, 
two distinct families, which are crossed with each 
other. And, except to supply the number of each 
kind I want to breed from, the individuals of the 
same family are never allowed to come together. 
By attention and strict adherence^ to this plan of 
crossing, where both kinds are good, I have a fine 
healthy stock. The animals are improved, both in 
size and symmetry, and their disposhion to get very 
fat, at an early age, has been increased. At twelve 
months old, the pigs you saw in my various pens, 
averaged 280 pounds ; and many of them exceeded 
300 pounds each. This weight, as they were fed al- 
most entirely upon vegetables,;?, was very satisfacto- 
ry. A larger race has been often recommended to 
me by my neighbors. But a large ''race would not 
only require more food, but it must also be of much 
richer, and of more expensive quality. Boiled cab- 
bages, turnips, and other vegetables, whose acreable 
produce is large,.jand which constitute the principal 
sustenance of my own breed, would make but poor 
returns when given to a larger framed animal. 

"My establishment consists of twelve breeding sows 
and two boars, that are kept as long as they bring 
fine litters of pigs ; failing in this,;- they are fatted, 
and their places supplied by others of one year old, 
before they are^put to the male. The sows are put 
with the boars the 1st of April, and the 1st of Octo- 
ber, and farrow twice a year. Their inside pens are 
eight feet by five, and their outside pens are three 



SWINE BREEDER, 261 

by four feet. About the time they are expected to 
bring; forth, the styes are littered with straw cut into 
chat!', very fine, that the little pigs may be dry and 
warm, without being entangled with long straw, and 
thus destroyed. The litters are always regulated so 
as to leave not more than eight pigs to any one sow, 
either by changing their mothers, when necessary, 
soon after their birth, or by removing supernumera- 
ries. I have always found a family of eight pigs at 
a month old, worth more than one of twelve ; their 
growth being so much greater. From each outside 
pen the pigs have access through a small hole, to a 
common yard, which is always kept well littered ; in 
which they play ; and where dry corn is placed in 
shallow troughs to induce them to eat as early as 
possible. Each party knows their mother, and they 
find their respective pens without difficulty. These 
pigs are always weaned the 1st of October, at six or 
eight weeks old, that the sows may be again in the 
V ay of their duty, and my system progressing. From 
these pigs I select seventy-two, and dispose of the 
rest. They are put into twelve pens, containing six 
each, and are fed with the best food my swill trough 
affords, six times per day, for the first month, and 
three times per day afterwards. The inside pens 
are six feet square, and the outside four -feet by six, 
both planked, with a quick descent for the dirt, &c., 
to be carried off. Much, indeed everything.^ depends 
upon their sleeping dry and warm, and being well 
littered, and kept perfectly clean. In these pens 
they remain six months, or until October and April, 
when they are all transferred to the fatting pens, 
and their places supplied by the newly weaned pigs. 
The fatting pens are planked — there is a cellar unt 
der them, and each pig is allowed an area of abou- 



262 THE AMERICAN 

twelve square feet to live in ; for these there are no 
outside pens. The fatting pens are cleaned out 
every morning, and fresh litter given. For three 
months the pigs in them are fed from the swill 
trough as store pigs ; at the end of which time, say 
January and July, their fatting commences, which 
consists in adding, for each of them, three quarts of 
cracked corn to their daily allowance of vegetables, 
for three months, when they are killed as near the 
first of October and the first of April as may be. 
Thus you vail observe the 1st of October and the 
1st of April are busy days in my piggery, and the 
little pigs are then weaned, the sows again put to the 
boars, the fat hogs sold off, the store pigs removed 
to the fattening pens, and my system completed. 
To feed this stock, consisting of 
72 pigs from one to six months old, and 
72 pigs from six to twelve months old, and 
12 old sows, and 
2 boars ; in all 



158 mouths — we boil a kettle of vegetables, con- 
taining six bushels, to which is added one bushel of 
cracked corn three times a day, and after putting 
this mass into the swill trough and mixing it inti- 
mately, we add as much water as will make 112 
gallons, or for each bushel of vegetables and corn, 
sixteen gallons. This swill is then distributed sweet 
and warm to the stock, morning, noon, and night, 
with great regularity, in the following proportions, 
viz : 

"In October, November and December — to each of 
72 pigs, from one to three months old, one gallon; 
and to each of 72 pigs from six to nine months old, 
three gallons. 



SWINE BREEDER. 263 

In July, February and March— to each of 72 pigs, 
from three to six months old, two gallons ; and to 
each of 72 pigs from nine to twelve months old, 2 
gallons, with 3 quarts of corn. 

In April, May and June — to each of 72 pigs, from 
six to nine months old, 3 gallons ; and to each of 
72 pigs, from one to three months old, one gallon. 

In July, August and September — to each of 72 
pigs, from nine to twelve months old, 2 gallons ; and 
to each of 72 pigs, from three to six months old, 3 
gallons whh 3 quarts of corn. 



galls. 8 galls. 



And these eight gallons, divided by their terms, 
or four, show that on an average, throughout the 
year, two gallons are required daily per head for 
the 144 pigs ; or equal to 288 gallons ; and to our 
twelve breeding sows, and two boars, we give per 
day, three gallons each, or equal to 42 gallons, 
making, altogether, an aggregate of 330 gallons ; 
thus quite consuming our three messes of 112 gal- 
lons each. By the different ages of the pigs, as 
above combined, we have a constant and daily call 
for the same quantity of swill throughout the year, 
so that our business proceeds with perfect regularity. 
'vThe following is a summary view of the total 
quantity of each kind of food used in my piggery 
per annum, and the months in which they are 
used ; beginning with the 1st of July, which is about 
the time I begin to depend upon summer vegetables, 
viz : 

Bushels. 
July and August. — Mangel Wurtzel, roots, 
and tops being the thinnings from two 
squares, each containing 32 rods, 800 

Summer squashes, 200 



064 THE AMERICAN 

Bushels. 

Early cabbages, 100 

September^ October and Novemher. — Winter 

squashes or pumpkins, 700 

Large drum head cabbages, 800 

Trimmings of mangel wurtzel turnips, 
&c. &c. 150 

December^ January^ February^ March, April. 
— Mangel Wurtzel,* (roots,) 200 

Carrots, 900 

Ruta Baga, 200 

Cabbages, 1500 

May. — Parsnips which are left in the ground 
during the winter, and allowed to grow in 
the spring, until their tops are from 4 to 6 
inches high, when they are daily dug as 
wanted, and boiled, 500 

June. — Potatoes, 250 

Early lettuce, peas, chopped up vines and 
pods when the peas are full grown, though 
still green, 250 



Bushels, 6550 



" We always mix the vegetables by boiling some 
of either kind in each kettle. 

" As it respects steaming, instead of boiling vege- 
tables, the only expense saved is fuel, for the same 
labor is necessary in filling and discharging them. 
Our laboring people require to have their work sim- 
plified as much as possible, and their judgment not 
often called into exercise. Were I to tell my man 
to steam 18 bushels of vegetables, and to give one- 
third of them three times a day to the stock, the 

♦Cabbage and Mangel Wurtzel used first. 



SWINE BREEDER. 265 

consequence would be, that a much greater quanti- 
ty would be given at one time than another, and 
though the whole would be consumed in the course 
of the day, still the inequality of feeding would be 
hurtful. Besides in winter, particularly, the swill 
must be very warm, which could not be so at night 
with vegetables steamed in the morning. Upon the 
whole, therefore, 1 prefer to say to him, ' fill the 
kettle with vegetables, and after they are boiled away 
sufficiently to make room, put in one bushel of 
cracked corn and oats, and give the whole for break- 
fast,' thus making out the exact line of duty, and 
leaving nothing to his discretion. 

" I give the swill warm in summer, and almost hot 
in winter, and always sweet and fresh. In conver- 
sation with Dr Derby, he argued upon the propriety 
of feeding with sour food, and that cold. I have 
formerly tried it and satisfied myself it was wrong. 
Pigs may be habituated to eat it ; but place this cold 
stuff in a trough, and a good smoking hot breakfast 
of mine in another beside it, and I will venture to 
say, they will soon show a preference." 

Says D. Hilliard, Esq. of Skaneateles, N. Y., in 
a letter to the Hon. H. L. Ellsworth, — "We have in- 
variably mixed other feed with fresh water. When 
feeding, we feed three times a day, changing from 
barley meal, to corn meal, peas, or provender, as 
we chance to have the same on hand ; paying strict 
attention to give a dose of sulphur once a week at 
least, and salt as often. Salt should never be omit- 
ted, as it is of great importance, and has as much in- 
fluence on the hog-kind, as on cattle, in producing 
health and growth. Twice a week, we also feed 
our hogs with charcoal ; this is far better than rotten 
18 



266 THE AMERICAN 

wood, as it has great nutritive qualities, and keeps 
the bowels in a sound and healthy state." 

Benjamin R. Fowler, Esq., an intelligent agricul- 
turist of Branford, Connecticut, in a letter addressed 
as above, remarks :— " From actual experience I 
have come to the conclusion, and practised upon it 
for the last twelve or fourteen years ; of having as 
many pigs, that come, say in March, as I have cows 
for the summer. I feed these pigs on milk or whey, 
mixed with provender, ground from corn, rye, oats, 
barley, or buckwheat ; and prepare it as a pudding. 
In this way the pigs will eat it best ; if they become 
cloyed with one kind of grain, I try another, and 
often mix different kinds together. They will often 
feed best on boiled potatoes, mixed with provender 
and milk. I feed until about the 1st of October, 
whatever they will eat the best, and give them as 
much as they will eat, together with occasional sup- 
plies of weeds and grass ; sometimes keeping them 
in close pens, or where they cannot run at large. 

" After the first of October, I take all this kind of 
feed from them, and feed with as much corn and 
water as they will eat, until say the middle of De- 
cember, or first of January. If I think they are fat 
enough, I butcher by the middle of December; if 
not, I keep them a few days longer. I shell all my 
corn and soak it for twelve hours before feeding, in 
order to prevent the effect of hard corn on their 
teeth. I am careful, that they have clean water and 
corn, twice a day ; and if at any time they appear 
dull and do not have good appetites, I give two 
or three ounces of sulphur to each pig while feed- 
ing. 

" If you feed the com on the cob, and do not soak 
it, their teeth will become sore ; the animals will 



SWINE BREEDER. 26T 

grow uneasy ; will ruttle in the ground, and will not 
fatten. From the time I begin to feed with corn 
and water, until I butcher, each hog will consume 
about ten bushels of corn." 

The Rev. Mr Watson, of Cobleskill, in a commu- 
nication in the Cultivator,* remarks, — " I purchased 
two pigs, December 23d, 1834, for $6 50 ; they 
then weighed 316 pounds; they had been dropped 
sometime in the preceding April. They were im- 
mediately put in a warm pen, and fed on rye, or 
corn meal, six quarts a day, in three feeds, with 
regularity and precision, until October following ; 
then they were fed nine quarts per day about one 
month ; then with twelve, until the 17th of De- 
cember, 1835, when they were butchered ; at 
which time they weighed 1,138 pounds. 

" They were fed on grain 349 days ; they drank 
the refuse milk of two cows, and had a few weeds 
from, the garden. If we allow one third offal in 
dressing, they gained in live weight, a fraction under 
two and a half pounds per day, and cost about ten 
cents per day. They ate 55 bushels of rye and 
corn ; the grain was ground fine, and the toll taken 
out ; in cold weather it was scalded and fed warm, 
in warm weather, fed dry, and milk poured on it in 
the trough. None was ever made into swill and fer- 
mented. The grain cost 5 shillings per bushel, 
equal to #34 37 1-2 ; value of pork at f 7 per hun- 
dred, equal to #79 66 ; deducting first cost and grain 
it leaves a balance in favor of the producer, of 
$39 28 1-2 ; tolerably fair pay on two pigs." 

'' On the 10th of October," says Mr T. Mitfordit 

* Cultivator; vol. 2. p. 182. 
. t IbidjVol. 3. p. 50. 



268 THE AMERICAN 

" I shut up to fatten for E. Holbrook, Esq., 20 
swine, viz : 10 about fifteen months old, two China 
hogs, a boar and sow, and eight shoats pigged the 
begirming of June last. The whole when shut up, 
was only a middling stock. They were divided into 
three lots, and closely confined ; we proceeded to 
fatten them by steaming four bushels of small pota- 
toes, 12 bushels of apple pomace, four bushels of 
pumpkins, and 1 cwt. of Buckwheat cornel, adding 
a little salt. The whole was incorporated well to- 
gether, while hot from the steamer, with a wooden 
pounder, and fermentation was allowed to take place, 
before it was fed away. They were also supplied 
with plenty of charcoal and pure water. 

" On feeding the first steamer of the compound, I 
perceived more than ordinary moisture on their lit- 
ter, and attributed the cause to the pumpkins acting as 
a diuretic, stimulating the kidneys and increasing the 
evacuation of urine. In the next steamer, I substi- 
tuted four bushels of ruta baga for the pumpkins, 
which had the desired effect. This experiment has 
convinced me that this mixture affords a greater mass 
of nutritive material prepared for the action of the 
stomach, and produces pork more rapidly than any 
combination of food I ever made use of. 

" Using up all our pomace, and having a greater 
quantity of soft corn than usual, we commenced 
giving it to the hogs, but instead of improving in 
their condition, they fell off, and we were under the 
necessity of procuring two loads of apple pomace 
from our neighbors, and commenced steaming and 
feeding again with the same good effect, until eight 
days before they were killed ; during which latter 
period they were fed with sound corn, and slaugh- 



SWINE BREEDER. 269 

tered on the 1st of December. The expense of fat- 
tening and the product of pork is as follows. — 
32^bushels of small potatoes, a 2s. $S 00 

32 " ruta baga, including pumpkins, 

a 2s. 
10 bushels soft corn, a 4s. 
10 cwt. buckwheat, a $1. 

a 6s. 6d. 



8 00 

5 00 

10 00 

16 25 


$47 25 


$360 00 
47 25 



By 40 cwt. of pork, a $7 50 per cwt. 
Deduct Expense, 

Balance, $312 75 

In a recent communication, (November, 8, 1839,) 
to the Hon. H. L. Ellsworth, Mr Phinney remarks 
as follows : 

" When the diiference as to the cost of fattening 
the different kinds of swine is considered, as well as 
the saving that may be made by a proper attention 
to the preparation of their food, it is certainly a mat- 
ter of astonishment that farmers have paid so little 
attention to the subject. No animal is so unprofita- 
ble to the farmer as the common coarse framed, 
long legged, slab sided hog ; — he is a moth to the 
owner, devouring his substance and yielding him in 
return little else than bones and bristles ; while on the 
other hand some of the improved kinds are by far 
the most profitable stock he can raise, giving him 
from fifty to one hundred per cent, advance upon 
every dollar expended in their keeping. The sub- 
ject of the immense saving that may be made in the 
whole nation, by cooking their food, and the intro- 
duction of an improved breed of swine, I had never 
considered on the extended scale in which you view 



270 THF AMERICAN 

the subject, but from the experiments I have made in 
a small way, I fully believe in the correctness of your 
positions. The correctness of your estimate of the 
amount that may be saved by cooking the food, I 
have tested and proved to my own satisfaction by re- 
peated experiment, and I have no doubt that by sub- 
stituting some of the improved breeds, taking into 
consideration the improved quality, as well as the in- 
creased quantity of the pork, that a saving of thirty- 
three per cent, may be made. 

"After killing off my hogs in March last, I wanted 
k couple of hogs to put upon my manure, thrown 
from the horse stable, to prevent waste by heating. 
I accordingly purchased from a drove of Vermont 
hogs, two of the common coarse breed. They were 
indeed of the order of " lean kine." I believed that 
nohwithstanding their appearance being so much 
against them, I could with a little extra keeping make 
them fat — but in this I have been disappointed. For 
the first four or five months, in addition to what they 
got from the manure heap, I gave them each two 
quarts of Indian meal, well cooked, per day, besides as 
much green clover and other green herbage as they 
would eat. For the last three months they have had 
four quarts of meal each, per day, mixed with an 
equal quantity of boiled potatoes or pumpkins, still 
they are not fat. In an adjoining sty I put two of 
my favorite cross of the Berkshire with the Mackey. 
To these, for the first four or five months, I gave one 
quart each per day of the same kind of food, with 
-the same allowance of green food, and for the last 
three months they have had two quarts each per day. 
The increase in the weight of the occupants of the 
two styes is about the same, but the difference is, that 
the increase of the former consists principally of 



SWINE BREEDER. 271 

of bone, and the latter of flesh. Separate the flesh 
from the bones of each and I have no doubt it would 
be found that the Berkshire and Mackey pigs would 
give three per cent, more clear pork than the 
Vermonters. And this it will be recollected is upon 
just half the expense of food. 

" The slop of the kitchen in some families is a very 
important item in the food of swine. On an adjoin- 
ing farm, of which I have the care, I have had sev- 
enteen swine, kept in fine order (from eight weeks 
to eight months old) entirely upon the slop of the 
kitchen, without a pound of meal or grain, but the 
slop consisted of tlie common refuse of a kitchen 
added to the skimmed and buttei* milk of ten cows. 

" My hogs, which are kept in pens the whole time, 
at the age of eighteen months, to be well fatted, will 
each require an average of thirtythree and two- 
thirds bushels of meal, cooked — say one quart each 
per day for the first six months, two quarts for the 
second six months, and three quarts for the third six 
months — average weight four hundred pounds. This 
is upon the idea that they have no otber food than 
the meal. Those pigs killed at from ten or twelve 
months old will require on an average twenty bushels 
each, averaging three hundred pounds. Where pigs 
could find a plenty of good pasture, and the manure 
would be of little value, a great saving in this amount 
may be made by turning them to grass for a part of 
the season. 

*' Last June, for the first time, I put a dozen of my 
l>reeding sows into a lot of ten acres, having about 
two acres in clover, the residue covered with trees 
and bushes. The only food they had except the 
grass, was one pound each per day of badly dam- 
aged rice, which cost one half cent per pound. 



272 THE AMBRICAN. 

This was soaked for fortyeight hours in a pail full of 
water to a pound of rice, and now, on putting them 
into the pens, I find them quite too fat for breeding 
sows.-' 

Diseases of Swine. An intimate knowledge of 
the various diseases to which swine are subjected and 
the proper modes of treatment for their prevention 
or removal, are points of great importance to the 
breeder. 

While it has been the opinion of many, that the 
disorders of swine are beyond the reach of reme- 
dial measures, and that " when a hog has once 
ceased eating " the knife should be resorted to, — 
others have gone to the opposite extreme and are 
ready with " infallible cures" or " certain remedies" 
for all diseases. It is from the extremely low valua- 
tion generally placed upon the hog, and consequent 
inattention to his diseases, that we owe the great 
confusion of statements on this subject ; and it cer- 
tainly must be admitted, that, " while doctors disa- 
gree " and succeeding numbers of agricultural pa- 
pers condemn, what former pages have proposed, the 
situation of the humane breeder is one of great em- 
barrassment. Desirous of securing some remedy, 
he yet hesitates, and his decision, if at length he 
makes one, is too often unavailing. When farmers 
are once convinced, of what is undoubtedly true, 
that the profits to be derived from hogs when judi- 
ciously managed exceed those of any other animal, 
we shall find that the present modes of treatment, 
and the prevailing ignorance, will yield to a perfect 
knowledge of the diseases of these animals. 

There is a homely, but a very significant adage, 
" that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of 
cure," and its application to the disorders of swine is 



SWINK BREEDER. 273 

especially remarkable. Prevention of disease, is 
the grand point which should command the consid- 
eration of the breeder; and one which close atten- 
tion will enable him, in general, to attain. The con- 
dition of swine, while growing, and especially while 
fattening, should be investigated daily. When these 
animals are enclosed in stall pens, or small enclo- 
sures, such investigations are absolutely necessary 
and will always be faithfully pursued by those who 
desire to keep their stock in a healthy and thriving 
state. 

We have heretofore spoken of the necessity of 
cleanliness, and as our readers have perused the 
suggestion given, it will hardly be necessary to re- 
mark further on that subject. If any doubt the great 
benefit derived for keeping the surface of the body 
constantly clean and the pores open, let them test the 
matter by experiment ; it is easily done, and decide 
from the results of their own trial. It would indeed 
be well, if in the treatment of animals we referred 
oftener to our own system, and derived our princi- 
ples from that most important of all laboratories, the 
human stomach. References of this kind would sel- 
dom mislead us, and we should be astonished to ob- 
serve how far the modes of treatment whicth nature 
seemed to indicate and experience sanctions as re- 
gards ourselves, are applicable to the animals we 
rear and fatten for profit or convenience. 

Salt, should be given to swine frequently and free- 
ly, and is easily administered, if intermingled with 
with their food three or four times weekly. An ex- 
amination of the modes pursued by various distin- 
guished breeders, which we have given in the for- 
mer part of this chapter, and in other portions of this 
volume, will show their constant use of this article. 



274 THE AMERICAN 

while the earnestness with which they recommend it 
is remarkable. Dry rotten wood is another article 
found to be serviceable to hogs, and small quantities 
of it should be kept continually in their pens, or in 
places to which they have daily access — while, to pre- 
veut the evils of over-feeding, and they are nume- 
rous, sulphur should be resorted to in doses of one 
or two teaspoonfuls, once or twice a week. For sur- 
feits, sulphur is an admirable remedy, and in such 
cases should be given, in ounce doses two or three 
times daily, and continue for several days. 

Charcoal is one of the best articles that can be 
gi en to hogs, to correct acidity of the stomach and 
preserve a healthy tone and action of the bowels. 
it is an excellent remedy in diseased lungs, a com- 
plaint by no means unfrequent with these animals. An 
intelligent writer in the Franklia Farmer, while 
speaking of the value of charcoal, in affections of 
this kind remarks as follows. "As the rearing and 
fattening of hogs has become a business of great 
importance to the West, and especially to our corn 
growing States ; and as new and terrible diseases 
have made their appearance within the last few 
years, among that class of our domestic animals, I, 
as a common sufferer with my brother farmers, have 
been trying to ascertain the cause of, and remedy 
for, the one which I have suffered the most by, 
and which I shall call your attention more particu- 
larly to, 

" It is admitted by pathologists, that diseases may, 
and do change their type in the same latitude, and 
become more and more malignant as the population 
becomes more dense, and the country becomes cold- 
er ; thus our own intermittent lias degenerated into 
the more deadly typhus fever ; thus, that which we 



SWINE BREEDER. 275 

once called quinsy or swelling of the throat in swine, 
has now assumed a more malignant type, and re- 
quires a different treatment ; the cause is the same, 
but the effect is not always instantaneous or accom- 
panied by the same symptoms or results. I think 
it may safely be assumed that most of diseases that 
hogs are liable to, are produced by sudden transi- 
tions from heat to cold ; especially as they do not, to 
the same extent with other animals, perspire through 
the pores of the skin over the whole surface of the 
body, but through small orifices in the legs and throat. 
These orifices are continually liable to obstructions, 
and particularly in the winter season, when great 
numbers of these animals sleep together, and where 
perspiration for a short time is succeeded by an op- 
posite state, in the frequent changes of position ; thus 
clogging the medium of perspiration and laying the 
foundation of disease and death. 

" This exposure, as we have stated, formerly pro- 
duced enlargement of the glands of the animal's 
neck, which often ended in inflammation and death- 
Now, the same cause produces veiy different effects, 
and although it is still strangulation, yet the inflam- 
mation falls with its whole weight upon the lungs ; 
and if both tubes of that organ are affected death 
instantly ensues : if only one, the animal may live a 
long time, but never recover unless the remedy that 
I shall presently suggest, or one equally potent, be 
applied. The symptoms, when the attack is violent, 
are, a seeming sense of suffocation, great indisposi- 
tion to move, a deep crimson color, approaching to 
purple all over the body ; and if forced to move 
only a few paces, the animal will pant as if worried 
by dogs in hot weather. If the attack is less vio- 
lent, it will take more exercise with seemingly 



^76 



THE AMERICAN 



less pain, will throb in the flanks in much the same 
way that a horse will when exhausted by fatigue and 
hard usage ; is generally inattentive to its com- 
pany, is inclined to eat earth rather than its ac- 
customed food ; such generally live a long time, but 
seldom recover. 

" I now proceed to point out, how io prevent the dis- 
ease, and to cure it if taken in time. Do not suffer your 
hogs to herd together in large lots in cold weather ; 
never suffer them to sleep in hollow trees ; if you 
have sheds for them to sleep under, let them be set 
so low that they cannot in great numbers heap to- 
gether. In dry, hard, freezing weather, let them 
have some succulent food such as apples, potatoes, 
or turnips, but especially let them have plenty of salt 
and charcoal ; this last is a cure for the disease if 
administered before they entirely refuse to eat. It 
is known to almost every one, that charcoal is a 
powerful antisceptic and absorbent, and that hogs 
search for and eat it with eagerness, especially in 
banks of leached ashes ; and so they will unassoci- 
ated with ashes, if at first you break it up into small 
lumps, and pour a little salt and water over it." 

In addition to the suggestions made by the above 
writer, we add, experiment has clearly shown that 
when confined in separate stalls, or in larger but well 
protected apartments, swine are seldom affected by 
swellings of the throat, or the more aggravated dis- 
ease referred to; and that, independent of its power 
in curing, charcoal is one of the best articles for pre- 
venting the various disorders of swine. It is not only 
nutritious — this is clearly shown from the statements 
of Mr Cunningham and others in the former part of 
this chapter, — but it is a powerful corrective of the 
acidity produced by feeding too much grain at once, 



SWINE BREEDER. %17 

or for too long periods. It is also found that char- 
coal, when frequently administered, effectually de- 
stroys the propensity of hogs to root, and causes them 
to remain quiet in their pens or yards; thus securing 
that rest which is essential to expeditious fattening. 

We have before spoken of the necessity of keeping 
the issues in the legs of swine, constmitly open. 
These orifices, as is suggested by the writer last 
quoted, are the natural channels for the passage of a 
great part of the perspiration and waste fluids of the 
system, and if they are obstructed, the health of the 
animal must soon deteriorate. 

In all well conducted piggeries, there should be a 
sufficient number of small boxes filled with sulphur,, 
salt and charcoal. If the former of these articles is 
purchased by the barrel, it can be obtained for one 
fourth, or less, of the retail price of the stores. In 
addition to these, a small handful of wood ashfis may 
be occasionally mixed with the food of each animal ; 
and the meal of the cob, if ground with corn, will be 
found, from the alkaline properties it possesses, a 
sufficient corrective of acidity. 

Simple remedies, like those proposed, are the ones 
best adapted to the disorders of hogs, and when 
faithfully given in connexion with judicious treatment, 
will in general prove successful. Mineral substances, 
though used by many, should be avoided in all 
cases where such a course is practicable ; and, in- 
deed, with the exception of calomel, in extraordinary 
cases, there are few of these medicines that can be 
recommended. The diseases of swine are not suffi- 
ciently understood to warrant the free use of these 
powerful articles, and desperate cases alone justify 
their employment, as a last measure. 

" Four or or five and twenty years ago," says Mow- 



278 THC AMERICAN 

bray, the late Mr Tattersall requested of me to 
choose him a store pig to put up for fattening. I ap- 
plied to Mr Wynt, the then salesman, and we chose 
one at Finchley, out of a fine drove of Flerefords, 
not then out of fashion. After the hog had been at 
Mr Tattersall's two or three days, I received a letter 
from him to tell m'e it was taken very bad, ia 
fact, dying. On inspection, I found the animal 
sleepy and torpid, refusing food, but occasionally 
throwing up the contents of its stomach which con- 
sisted of half digested meal. I immediately per- 
ceived the cause of the patient's malady. The 
feeder, determined to lose no time, had been assidu- 
ously filling up the trough with food, which the hog, 
empty after a long journey, voraciously devoured, 
until its stomach was filled, and its digestive faculty 
totally overpowered. My prescription was abstinence 
from corn, a moderate quantity of sweet grains, thin 
wash, sulphur with it, and in a few hours the hog 
was perfectly recovered. In the sequel, the feeder 
held up his hand with astonishment, at the possibility 
of a hog being gorged with food !" 

"I have been favored," continues the same writer, 
*' by a very old friend, wita the following successful 
and instructive case, which I give from the MS. re- 
ceived : ' In the autumn of 1828, one of my sows, 
four years old, a good mother, remarkably good 
tempered, a cross between the Oxford and China 
breeds, with eleven fine pigs by her side which had 
been farrowed three weeks, was suddenly seized 
with fever and inflammation. In twelve hours she 
became unable to stand, was very restlesi and appa- 
rently in great agony, no evacuation having taken 
place during two days. In consequence I called in 
the aid of a noted cow-leech of the vicinity, who 
with much gravity promised he would do what he 



SWINE BREEDER. 279^ 

could for her, but that all would be of no use. The 
operations of bleeding anointing and medicine were 
carried on for three day , at a charge of thirty five 
shillings, when the sage doctor dismissed the case 
with the consolation to me — that he could do no more 
for the patient, and that it was impossible she could 
live. 

" I then took her in hand myself, bled her and gave 
her a strong dose of salts and jalap, which I succe(;d- 
ed in delivering, her paws b.ing held open by a rope 
attached to each. In about an hour thereafter she 
had three pints of warm gruel. In less than three 
hours I had the satisfaction of observing symptoms of 
great tranquillity, and improvement in my patient ; 
and after leaving her at night on a clean and com- 
fortable bed, I was gratified by finding her upon her 
leis next morning, in a fair progress to recovery. I 
then repeated the same dose, somewhat reduced in 
strength, and still keeping her on warm gruel two 
days, my satisfaction was complete on finding her 
quite restored to her former health, saving a little in- 
convenience from the obstruction of her milk. Of 
the pigs previously removed nine did well, and the 
sow became freed from all the relics of her disease 
in ten or twelve days. I did not choose to risk ano- 
ther farrow with her, therefore put her to the boar in 
October, and fed her for the knife. She was killed 
at Christmas, and made excellent bacon. Thus I 
saved a fine hog by calling in Doctor Common Sense, 
to atone for the insufliciency of the most skilful leech 
then and there going ; and if my brethren pig breed- 
ers and pig feeders would follow my example, in 
most cases, I humbly opine it would be to the bene- 
fit both of their pockets and their pigs."* 

* Mowbray on Poultry, i&c., p. 192. 



280 



THE AMERICAN 



Says Mr Lawrence, an eminent English agricultu- 
rist, " When the hog lies upon his belly and contract- 
ed, it indicates a sense of cold, or some indisposi- 
tion. If inaptitude to thrive be owing to a foul, scurvy 
and obstructed hide, the best remedy is to extsnd the 
hog on a form, and wett.ng him with a ley, made of 
half a peck of wood ashes boiled in urine or salt 
water (soap suds will answer), to curry or scrub him 
clean ; then to wash in clear wa.rm water, and dry 
him with wisps (of straw), strewing him over with 
ashes and putting him into a deep stra>\- bed. 

Swelling of the Throat, or Quinsy. — This is 
an affection very common among swine, and arises, 
like the " disorder of the lungs" which we mentioned 
a few pages back, from exposure, and too s dden 
transitions from heat to cold. It is also supposed to 
arise from, or at least to be augmented by, protracted 
indigestion, the result of over-feeding or hard grain. 
One of the best modes of preventing the disease, is 
to provide always for the animal, a covered pen or 
enclosure, where it is protected from inclement wea- 
ther during sleep, and the frequent use of charcoal 
and sulphur, as previously recommended. Bird 
Smith, Esq., of Kentucky, has adopted the following 
mode of treatment, and with great success in the in- 
cipient stages of the disorder. He removes his hogs 
as soon as he perceives any symptoms of the disease, 
from the fields to convenient pens, and feeds them 
with a liberal allowance of corn well glazed with tar, 
and as many ashes put on as will adhere to the 
grain. He also observes that hogs enclosed in styes, 
rarely if ever labor under this affection. Others re- 
commend strongly the following prescription : — Mix 
together half a pint of molasses and a table spoonful 
of hog's-lard, add one inch of the ordinary brimstone 
rolls, melt the whole, and drench the hog with it 
when cold. 



SWINE BREEDER. 281 

The Staggers. — This is a disease to which swine 
are sometimes subject. Hogs affected suddenly 
with this disorder, turn around rapidly, and if not 
assisted will soon die. On opening the mouth a 
bare knob, in the roof of it will be discovered (this, 
however, is not always visible), which, if found, 
should be cut and allowed to bleed. Some writers 
recommend the powder of loam and salt, rubbed 
into the wound thus made, and the administration of 
a little urine to the hog. 

A writer in th^ New England Farmer, remarks 
that he " lost two swine from ignorance as to the 
cure of this disease ; but by cutting off the tails and 
ears of the animals, as the easiest way of bleeding 
them, giving them strong doses of castor oil, and 
turning them out of the sty into the pasture," he 
succeeded in saving them. Sometimes they re- 
lapsed, but were restored again by being turn- 
ed out. But they did not soon come to their appe- 
tite, and the disease materially, and for a longtime, 
retarded their growth. 

Measles. — This disorder generally affects the 
throat, which on examination is found filled with 
small pustules, and a similar appearance is some- 
times exhibited on the outside of the neck. Under 
the influence of this disease, the animal appears 
languid ; has red eyes, and loses flesh with great ra- 
pidity. The symptoms, however, are often obscure, 
and the disorder is one that should be suspected, 
whenever the animal for a long period, appears to 
be " off his feed" and in a dilatory condition. The 
frequent use of sulphur, in small doses will general- 
ly prevent the measles, and do much towards their 
cure. Charcoal, perhaps, is a better remedy. Some 
writers recommend small quantities of levigated crude 
19 



282 THE AMERICAN 

antimony intermixed with the food of the animal. 
This disease is one which does not affect animals 
confined in pens, and properly fed, to the same ex- 
lent with those that run at large. 

Garget — Is an inflammation of the udder, and 
arises from its over distention with coagulated milk. 
It generally happens, when sows are too fat at the 
season of littering, and should be remedied as soon 
as possible, as the pigs will not suck during its con- 
tinuance. In slight cases, bathing the udder with 
camphorated spirits of wine is recommended. The 
milk also, should, where practicable, be squeezed out 
by the hand, and the food of the sow should be cool- 
ing and slightly laxative in its nature. It is not, 
however, a disease of very frequent occurrence, 
especially in its severe forms. 

Mange. — This is a cutaneous affection, and arises 
from a want of cleanliness. Prevention, therefore 
is easy, and indeed its existence argues great 
inattention on the part of the owner. This disease 
is at first recognized by the appearance of small red 
pustules over the surface of the skin, which as the 
disorder continues, are rubbed frequently and vio- 
lently by the animal, until scabs are produced. The 
use of sulphur, in doses of half an ounce twice a 
day for three or four days will generally be found 
sufficient to remove the disorder. 

Dr Norford, who has turned his attention some- 
what to this affection, remarks that, the animal should 
be well washed with strong soap suds ; and then be 
anointed with an ointment formed of an ounce of 
sulphur, two drachms of fresh pulverized hellebore, 
three ounces of hog's lard, and half an ounce of the 
water of Kali, or alkaline solution. This is suffi- 
cient for one time, for a hog weighing an hundred. 
If properly applied, no repetition will be needed. 



SWINE BREEDER. 283 

Where the mange is accompanied by a slight 
cough, the same writer recommends small doses of 
antimony ; from an ounce to an ounce and a half, — 
according to the size of the animal, finely pulverised 
and mixed with his food for ten days or a fortnight. 
But when from long neglect, the neck, ears, and 
other parts have been ulcerated, they should be an- 
ointed with equal parts of tar and mutton suet, 
melted together, till the cure is completed. 

The Murrain, or leprosy is known by the short- 
ness of the breath, and its great heat, hanging down 
of the head, and copious secretions from the eyes. 
It is attributed to very warm weather, when the 
blood becomes inflamed. The following is the reme- 
dy proposed. Boil a handful of nettles in a gallon 
of small beer ; add a half pound of sulphur, a quar- 
ter of a pound of flour of anniseeds, pulverised, 
three ounces of liquorice and a quarter of a pound 
of elecampane ; and give the mixture in milk, at 
six doses. 

Disease of the Loins. — This disorder is one of 
rather frequent occurrence in the Western states, and 
is generally termed the kidney worm. It is easily 
recognised by the extreme weakness, and rapid ema- 
ciation of the animal, and an inability to walk on all 
fours, compelling the hog to crawl forward, dragging 
his hinder parts slowly after him. It is now gener- 
ally thought to arise from a collection of worms in 
the intestines. It is hardly necessary to remark that 
hogs can never fatten during the existence of this 
disease, and in general, if not checked at once, 
death is the inevitable result. 

Some cases are reported where this disease has 
been cured by the administration of large doses of 
arsenic ; but this powerful mineral was resorted to 



284 THE AMERICAN 

as a last chance, and besides generally mingled with 
other remedies, so that its peculiar effect cannot be 
stated with precision. Its use, however, cannot be 
recommended. 

Probably the best remedy, is to drench the hog 
with tolerably strong portions of ley from wood ash- 
es, mixed with tar. If this is not successful, from 
twenty to thirty grains of calomel may be resorted 
to, and should be given mixed with half a pound of 
meal dough. 

Among other diseases, hogs are subject to dry 
cough, and rapid wasting of the flesh, and fever, or 
rising of the lights. For the removal of the former, 
a dry, warm sty should be provided, and a regular 
supply of food calculated to keep the animals cool, 
and allay the irritation of the lungs. For the sec- 
ond, the cause of which is over-feeding, small doses 
of sulphur and oil may be given. 

The opposite conditions of diarrhoea and consti- 
pation are met with frequently in large herds of 
swine. The former arises in general from a mea- 
gre and laxative diet, and is cured by a change to 
more substantial food, with the occasional admixture 
of tonic drinks ; with the English, farmers' beer, 
and liquids of that nature are given, in connexion 
with generous diet, for the removal of a lax state of 
the bowels. In constipation, an opposite course 
should be pursued, and the various roots or mucila- 
ginous seeds may be given with advantage. 

Where hogs are suffered to run at large, they are 
sometimes poisoned by deleterious articles of food : 
in this condition, they exhibit sudden transitions from 
extreme languor and stupidity to convulsions. Their 
eyes are blood shot ; their extremities cold, and 
their usual grunt exchanged for one deeper and more 



SWINE BREEDER. 285 

frequently repeated. In cases of this nature, the 
animal should be forced to swallow as many pints of 
milk as possible ; and two or three hours afterwards 
still more, mixed with a decoction of mucilaginous 
substances : such as flax seed, olive oil, &c. They 
should also be bled immediately, and several times, 
if the symptoms continue. 

A French writer,* while considering the diseases 
of swine, holds the following language in regard to 
the murrain or leprosy. " Want of water, corrupt- 
ed air, insufficient nourishment, in short, the negli- 
gence of the owner, is the great cause of this mala- 
dy which so speedily and entirely deteriorates the 
flesh of the hog ; — at first rendering it flabby, diffi- 
cult to preserve, and ill adapted to salting, and 
eventually discolored and impure to such an extent 
that it cannot be eaten without disgust. 

" This disease is a cachexy, to which a vermin- 
ous disposition is superadded. During its continu- 
ance, the animal is stupid, his ears and tail hang 
down, his eye has a troubled anxious appearance, 
his shout is warm, the beating of his heart lessened, 
and his bristles constantly erected. To these symp- 
toms, which indeed attend nearly all the maladies of 
swine, are added, great insensibility, thickening of 
the skin, constant weakness, so that the animal can 
remain standing but a few moments, and above all, 
the presence of numerous small whitish tumors, on 
the sides and lower portions of the tongue, near the 
throat. 

" It is the last symptom which occasions such fre- 
quent examination of the tongues of hogs in our 
markets, by the knowing ones, (langueyers,) and 

*Vi(le Encyclopedie des Sciences et Arts.— Manuel du Charcu- 
tier, p. 90-91. 



286 THE AMERJCAP^ 

which investigations generally detect the disease. 
In the language of these persons, hogs thus affected, 
are termed " grained'''' from the resemblance be- 
tween grain and these small tumors with which the 
flesh is strewed. If his animals, when thus disor- 
dered, can be sold at even low prices the owner 
should be contented, for the disease is generally one 
that makes a fearful progress. 

" When the sides and base of the tongue are 
covered with a multitude of these tumors, it denotes 
great internal derangement, and in its last stages 
the disease produces successively, paralysis of the 
trunk, a bloody taint of the skin, falling of the bris- 
tles, putrid evacuations, and nauseous exhalations 
from the body ; the cellular tissue is raised in differ- 
ent places, the abdomen is covered with tumors, the 
extremities become swollen, and death terminates 
the sufferings of the poor animal. 

" The remedies for leprosy are few, and therefore 
great care should be taken to prevent it. We can- 
not too strongly enforce the doctrine that cleanliness 
is the great resort. Strict attention should be paid 
to the condition of the animal, and the litter should 
be frequently changed. Roots should form part of 
the food, and no rapid changes be made from a high 
to a low diet, or the contrary. Their stomachs 
should be strengthened with sustenance, administer- 
ed at proper seasons. Treat them thus, and this dis- 
ease need be no longer feared. The hog will be 
sound and healthy, with firm flesh ; and, what should 
not be disregarded, will live contented. The unne- 
cessary suffering of domestic animals is a reproach 
to their master, and should occasion his remorse. 

" It is not yet settled whether the leprosy of swine 
is hereditary ; it is only known that in young hogs 



SWINE BREEDER. 287 

there exists a disposition to this disease. It is there- 
fore recommended to examine in all cases boars and 
sows, intended to be kept for the reproduction of 
their species, and thus discover whether any of the 
symptoms of this disease are present. Besides the 
indications of the tongue, attention should be paid to 
the state of the skin, its softness, and other marks of 
perfect heallh." 

The foregoing suggestions on the diseases of swine 
are, it is true, imperfect ; but as we remarked at the 
commencement, little is known upon these subjects. 
The best that we can do, is to impress on the mind of 
the farmer, the necessity of constant attention to 
his stock. As a Roman rhetorician, when asked to 
describe the three important qualifications of an ora- 
tor, replied " action" thrice repeated, so we, if call- 
ed upon for the three great resources of the farmer, 
in the diseases of his animals, would answer pre- 
vention, PREVENTION, PREVENTION. 

" Where a number of swine are bred," says Hen- 
derson,* " it will frequently happen that some of the 
pigs will have what is called a ' rupture,' i. e. a hole 
broken in the rim of the belly, where part of the 
guts come out and lodges betwixt the rim of the bel- 
ly and the skin, having an appearance similar to a 
swelling in the cod. The male pigs are more lia- 
ble to this disorder than the females. I never found 
much difficulty in curing this disorder by the follow- 
ing means. 

Geld the pig affected and cause it to be held up 
with its head downward ; flay back the skin from 
the swollen place, and, from the situation in which 
the pig is held, the guts will naturally return to their 

♦Henderson's Treatise on Swine, p. 60. 



288 THE AMERICAN 

proper places. Sew up the hole with a needle, 
which must have a square point, and a bend in it, as 
the disease often happens between the hinder legs. 
where a straight needle cannot be used. After this, 
replace the skin which was flayed back, and sew it 
up when the operation is finished. The pig should 
not have much food for a few days after the opera- 
tion, until the wound begins to heal." 

We now pass to consideration of other matters — 
the slaughtering of hogs, and the preparation of their 
flesh for market. For the purpose of affording our 
readers information, at once practical and interest- 
ing on these subjects, we annex the following ac- 
counts of the pork business at Cincinnati, where it 
is far more extensively followed than in any other 
portion of our union. 

The first communication which we place before 
our readers, is taken from the correspondence of Al- 
lison Owen, Esq., a highly respectable merchant of 
Cincinnati, with the Editors of the Baltimore Patri- 
ot and other eastern papers. These communications 
were written in 1835, and the information furnished 
is entitled to the greatest credit. The following are 
some of the author's remarks. 

" Cincinnati is the greatest pork market in the 
known world. The number of hogs slaughtered an- 
nually, and the perfection and science to which the 
art of " hog-killing" has been brought, is indeed as- 
tonishing. The business of butchering is carried on. 
distinct from that of packings and by different per- 
sons. The most extensive establishment of the kind 
is the one on Deer Creek, owned and conducted by 
Mr John W. Coleman. At this place, last year,. 
100,864 hogs were slaughtered. There are four 
houses situated at different points on the ground oc- 



SWINE BREEDER, 28§ 

cupied^ which is a lot of eight acres — the ground is 
divided into pens, some 40 or 50 in number, where 
the hogs of each owner are put by themselves pre- 
paratory to the massacre. About 40 men are em- 
ployed in each house, and each has his separate and 
allotted duty to perform, and receive on an average 
about 81 25 per day. Each house has two scalding 
tubs, one at each end, so that the work of ' death 
and destruction' goes on douhle in each building. 
At each end of the house is a small pen, into which 
they crowd 40 or 50 hogs, or as many as can possi- 
bly be got in — then walks in on their backs, the 
dark and bloody executioner, holding in his hand a 
large sledge hammer, with which he ' deals death' to 
the unoffending victims — after which they are drag- 
ged inside the house, a knife passed into the throat, 
and after bleeding a few seconds, thrown into a ket- 
tle of hot water, from thence to a block, where the 
bristles are scraped ofl' with iron scrapers, made ex- 
pressly for the purpose — then strung up by their hind 
feet and dressed — thence removed to another room, 
where they remain ' to cool' until morning, and then 
taken on wagons to the packing houses. It is but a 
little over one minute from the time the executioner 
enters the pen and knocks the hog down, till he is 
strung up and dressed. The bleeding, scalding, 
scraping, stringing up, and inside dressing, is all 
accomplished in about a minute. This will be 
thought marvellous, but it is no more strange than 
true. I have frequently witnessed with astonish- 
ment the operation. At one of Mr Colman's 
slaughter-houses, he has a man that opens, removes 
the offal, and completes the dressing of i^Aree hogs in 
a minute — to this man (who is a sort of king among 
the hog killers) he pays two dollars and fifty cents 
per day. 



290 THE AMERICAN 

" They can slaughter at each of the houses, and 
have them completely dressed and strung up, (prepa- 
ratory to removal in the morning to the packing 
houses,) six hundred and ffty in a day, which is al- 
together, at this one establishment, twenty six hun- 
dred — and this done from daylight in the morning 
till dark, say at this time, about eleven hours, allow- 
ing thirty minutes for dinner. Mr Coleman inform- 
ed me, that he has already killed this fall between 
50 and 60 thousand, and has been at work but three 
or four weeks ; the only pay he receives is the offal, 
consisting of rough fat, soap grease, and bristles ; 
this is generally worth, net 20 to 25 cents each hog. 
It is supposed he cleared at this business last season 
(and the season lasts but about three months) some 
15 or 20,000 dollars. The whole number of hogs 
killed last year, in the city and vicinity, is ascertain- 
ed to be a little rising one hundred and twenty three 
thousand. Deer Creek is a stream running into the 
Ohio river on the eastern suburb of the city ; about 
half a mile up this stream, these slaughter-houses of 
Mr Colman are situated, and during the whole •" hog 
season,' this stream, from the houses to the river, is 
running blood, and generally goes by the name of 
' bloody river.' " 

The following communication of Mr H. R. Smith, 
of Cincinnati, for which we are indebted to the kind- 
ness of E. P. Cranch, Esq. of that city, — will ex- 
hibit the present condition of the pork business at 
the West. (Dec. 1839.) 

" As the hogs are driven into the city, they are 
put into pens adjoining the slaughter houses, and im- 
mediately on a sale being effected, or the owner 
chooses to cut on his own account, (the weather be- 
ing suitable) killing commences. They are driven 



SWINE BREEDER. 291 

then into a small pen attached to the slaughter 
house, about twelve or fourteen at a time, a man 
goes in with his weapon, (a sort of iron hammer 
about three pounds in weight, with a handle from 
three to four feet long,) and by as many blows brings 
down all that are in this small pen, (one blow on the 
forehead of each animal is sufficient.) No noise is 
heard, except now and then a stifled groan of the 
poor creature as he falls. The hammer is then laid 
aside, and a large hook put into the mouth of the hog, 
and by two men he is dragged out into the apart- 
ment for scalding, &lc. ; they are here stuck and the 
blood runs off by a small channel or gutter made in 
the brick floor for that purpose. A large low tub is 
close by, (ready to receive them) filled with water a 
few degrees from scalding, into which they are put 
and soused about for a few minutes until the hair 
can be removed with ease. (I presume it is well 
known that if the water be quite scalding, it will 
set the hair ; thereby acting on it directly contrary 
to the purpose for which it was intended.) A little 
boy the moment the hog is lifted from the tub to a 
bench on which he is cleaned, makes two or three 
grabs at the neck of the animal for the bristles, 
which are consigned to a barrel, which, when filled, 
is sent oflf to the cleaner or comber. The hog pass- 
es on the bench through several hands, till he is per- 
fectly clean ; is then hung up for gutting and dressing. 
On this bench, sometimes, as many as six, eight, or 
even ten are being cleaned at the same time, passing 
rapidly from one to another till completed. When 
hung, the gutting and dressing is but the work of a 
few seconds, and he is immediately removed into an 
adjoining room, and left hanging to cool. They are 
usually left one night, and in the morning are firm 
and in good order for cutting. 



292 THE AMERICAN 

" At one slaughter house in this city, they can kill^ 
clean, and dress 800 hogs in a day, with thirty hands ; 
1000 have been got through, but it is very great ex- 
ertion, and much over an average day's work. The 
former number, say 800, is a fair average for the 30 
hands. Wages for these hands, about $1 25 per 
day. Three four horse teams cost about $16 per 
day, and wood, and other small expenses, say $4, 
making an aggregate expense of less than $60 per 
day, for labor and all expenditures ; supposing the 
number of each day's killing to be 800, the cost of 
each hog would be less than eight cents ; but as they 
have not always got this number ready for killing, 
the average cost per hog ought to be calculated at a 
little advance, and say about nine cents. This sum 
appears a very small one, when the trouble and fre- 
quent handling of a large hog is considered, but 
with good management it can easily be done. The 
gut fat is trimmed from the inwards in a small 
apartment petitioned off in the scalding and clean- 
ing room, and as soon as a cartload of it is ready, 
it is sent off to the ' renderer,' who is generally a 
pork packer. All the <ipparatus necessary in an es- 
tablishment of this kind is the ' hammer,' as before 
described, a couple of 40 gallon kettles for heating 
the water, a tub about 7 feet in diameter, and 20 
inches deep, in which they put the hog to move the 
hair, a rough bench on which they clean it, about 
two feet high and twelve to fourteen long, and a 
common bench or table about four feet high at which 
they clean or separate the gut lard from the inwards. 

" The frame building in which the hog is hung to 
cool is very open, and has beams about six feet high 
every three or four feet apart, with large hooks 
about two or four inches long, on which the animal is 



SWINE BREEDER. 293 

suspended. The quantity of fat from the intestines 
is, from some hogs, eight pounds, while from others 
only four or five ; a fair average may be about six 
to six and a half pounds ; worth from four to seven 
cents according to the price of pork and No. 1 
lard ; this year it may bring five or five and a half 
cents. Bristles in their rough state are worth two 
cents per hog, and, after combing, are in four days 
dry, tied up, and ready for immediate use. The 
slaughterer delivers the hog, clean and ready for 
cutting at the door of the packer, for the inwards, 
fat, &c. In one or two instances, 12 1-2 cents per 
hog has been given for the privilege of killing, when 
the price of pork has been high, the same as before, 
being the slaughterer's perquisites. The quantity of 
hogs cut in our city last winter, was a little more 
than 193,000. The probable quantity this year will 
be about one third less than last, say about 180,000, 
at least this is our opinion. 

" The largest cutting or packing establishment now 
in our city, is the one on the corner of Court and 
Sycamore streets, built by Major C. S. Clarkson, (as 
well known perhaps, as the great and successful 
raiser of Durham Stock,) in the year 1836. This 
house is 125 feet long by 80 feet, is four very lofty 
stories high, with a cellar under the whole, ten feet 
deep. This house is so constructed as to be easily 
changed into five warehouses ; two, 80 by 25, and 
three 75 feet by 25, (clear.) Last season in this 
house, by its owner, 15,000 hogs were cut ; 3,300 
were cut in five and one third days, and on one of 
these days 1420 were cut and put away in a business 
like manner. Four hundred and twenty barrels were 
packed on that day, and the hams and shoulders of 
all, and the smaller sides, (not fit for mess pork) 



294 THE AMERICAN 

were all salted and carefully put away ; this required 
about 45 hands. From the block, the joints, say 
hams and shoulders, are thrown on a bench where 
the regular trimmers of each of these parts are sta- 
tioned. As each ham, &c. is trimmed, they are 
pushed from the bench and drop through a hole in 
the floor into the meat cellar, where the salters stand 
ready to receive, and salt it down, each sort in a 
separate pile or bulk. The pieces cut up from the 
sides, for barrelled pork, are thrown into a large box, 
by which, " the selector" has his scales and weighs off 
the 200 pounds of each grade for barrelling. This 
200 pounds is then put into another box, where the 
packer has his alum and salt, and by him it is con- 
signed to the barrel ; a cooper stands by, and by the 
time the next barrel is packed, he has it headed and 
ready to be rolled out for pickling. In addition to 
the 50 pounds of Turks Island salt put in the barrel 
with the meat, the pickle has to be strong enough to 
keep up a potato or a hog's head. This will secure 
the meat, for at any rate, six months ; but at the ex- 
piration of that time it should be overhauled, and if 
necessary, have fresh salt, which will most likely be 
requisite. 

" When rolled out, each barrel is laid on its side, a 
hole by an inch augur, bored, and with a tunnel it is 
filled with pickle ; then with a pine plug is bunged 
and ready for shipping. The leaf lard as it is drawn 
from the hog, immediately on his being split or 
cut down in half, goes into the adjoining cellar, (to 
that for the meat) which is appropriated entirely to 
lard. The scrap lard, that which comes off the butt 
of both shoulders and hams, also goes with the leaf; 
and after having every little part of meat separated 
from the fat, it, (the lard) is chopped up into small 



SWINE BREEDER. 295 

pieces, say from an inch and a half to two inches 
square (to facilitate it in rendering) put in barrels 
or hand barrows, and carried off to the kettles. The 
small pieces of meat trimmed from the lard are sold 
to the sausage cutters at about four cents per pound. 
Four lard kettles of 90 gallons each, will render as 
much as one set of hands can attend to in the day. 
As it is melted, it is put in large coolers, usually cut 
out of a solid log. In the house before alluded to, 
there are three coolers ; one holds about 140 kegs 
of 42 pounds each, the other two together about the 
same. When cool enough to run off conveniently, 
a boy takes two kegs and places under a couple of 
brass taps, (about two feet apart) so as to be filling 
two at once for the sake of expedition. If the 
weather is very cold, the lard must be run off du- 
ring the night, but if not, early the following morn- 
ing will do. 

'' The small pieces of skin, meat, and that part of 
the fat which will not melt, is pressed, and comes 
out in cakes of from 50 to 80 pounds weight, and 
are called ' cracklins,' worth 75 cents per cwt. 
These are most excellent food for stock hogs. In 
cold weather, lard run off into kegs can be shipped 
two hours afterwards. I once knew in the same 
house, a large lot of hogs alive on Monday morning, 
killed on Tuesday, and on Wednesday afternoon the 
lard and pork manufactured from those hogs were in 
fine order, and were dashing down the Ohio to the 
New Orleans market. This was in November, 1838. 
The joints of meat remain in salt about three days, 
then are overhauled, and remain for about seven 
days, then another resalting, and they are safe for 
three weeks, and may not require any farther atten- 
tion, till they are washed, (in warm water) and hung 



296 THE AMERICAN 

in the smoke house. Five weeks is about the time 
we let them lay in salt, in Ohio ; this is, however, 
much too long for small hams. Three weeks is 
^uite enough for hams of from 9 to 12 pounds ; four 
weeks for those of from 15 to 18 pounds, and five 
for those of a larger size. 

" The cost of transportation for barrelled pork from 
hence to New Orleans by steamboat varies, from 90 
cents to $2, according to the stage of the river. I 
think $1 12 1-2 is about an average. Lard is from 
15 to 20 cts ; average about 25 els, (gross weight 
about 52 pounds per keg.) On flat boats, pork is 
sometimes taken at 75 cents, but about 90 to 95 is 
the average price. Lard 15 cents per keg. On 
flats, however, the insurance is double what it is on 
steamboats, and where time and everything is con- 
cerned, I give steam the preference. I should have 
before stated that it will take about 32 hands to cut 
up and put away 800 hogs in a day. As they smoke 
meat better in the east than we do, I will only say 
that we usually smoke with hickory wood and tan 
bark, and keep fires up about 21 days, letting them 
out at night. 

Inquiries are often made as to whether pork mer- 
chants prefer particular breeds of hogs, on account 
of feeding, size, age, and breed. I answer undoubt- 
edly we do, respecting the feed of these animals, I 
would say that a corn fed hog is worth at least a dol- 
lar per hundred more than a still, or what is general- 
ly called a slop fed hog. If a hog has been put up 
and fed on slop, for some few weeks, then change 
his feed to mash, say acorns, beech nuts, &c. &c. of 
the same kind, then complete his fattening with corn. 
I can point out to any one the mark of each as dis- 
tinctly as a river man can point you out the high 



SWINE BREEDER. 297 

water mark on a post on the river bank. Still fed 
pork shrinks very much in boiling ; corn fed will 
swell out more than shrink. A hog of about 210 
pounds neat weight is about as profitable a hog as 
we can have as to weight. The small boned China 
hog has been of service in the West, in being cross- 
ed with our large coarse hogs. But we find fashions 
change in regard to swine as well as other things, 
and the Berkshire has now the preference given him 
principally on account of size and form ; they will 
grow to the weight of 320 neat weight, and this is as 
large as we can make them, to be profitable to the 
feeder, packer and consumer. The Byficld has had 
his friends, but the great majority are in favor of the 
Berkshire. A good breed of pigs can be made to 
weigh, from the day they are pigged till the day 
they are killed, one pound per day. 

Curing Pork Hams. — The following suggestions 
from various correspondents, will exhibit the best 
modes adopted in the preparation of pork and bacon 
for market. Although the methods given, will be 
found in many respects, somewhat similar, we have 
preferred to furnish the opinion of each author in 
his own words, and shall leave our readers, after a 
careful comparison of the plans proposed to select 
according to their judgment. A writer in the Farm- 
er's Cabinet,* remarks as follows. 

" As soon as the pork becomes cool, I cut and 
sort it, taking great care to have the tubs perfectly 
sweet and clean. In cutting, I take out all the spare 
ribs, and make pickled pork of all the side between 
the ham and shoulders ; cutting it into pieces of suita- 
ble size for family use. I trim the hams and shoul- 

Vol. iii. p. 62. 

20 



298 THE AMERICAN 

ders well. I cover the bottom of the tub with rock 
salt, and then put in a layer of pork, nicely packed ; 
then cover tliis layer with salt, and so on until the 
tub is filled. I use rock salt, and very bountifully. 
In six or eight days make a pickle of salt and cold 
water, as strong as possible, and cover the pork pre- 
viously salted with it. It will then keep for use for 
years, if you choose. 

" In preparing the hams and shoulders, I weigh 
several, to come at the probable weight of the whole. 
They are packed with great car and suitable tubs. 
My process is to sprinkle some coarse, salt at the 
bottom ; then pack in the hams and shoulders firm- 
ly, side by side, being careful not to put the back of 
one flat on the top of another. The spaces are fill- 
ed up with chines, hocks, and jowls. To about 
every 300 weight of meat I take thirty pounds of 
rock salt, one pound of saltpetre, and fourteen pounds 
brown sugar, or half a gallon of good molasses, 
(generally the latter.) Take as much pure water as 
will cover the meat, put it in a clean vessel, add the 
above articles, boil it, removing the scum as it rises, 
and when no more rises, set it to cool, after which 
pour it on the meat until it is covered three or four 
inches. 

" If the hams are small, weighing from 12 to 15 
pounds, let them remain in the pickle five weeks — 
if from 15 to 25, six weeks— if from 25 to 45, seven 
weeks. When you remove them for the purpose of 
smoking, put them in clean, cold water for two or 
three hours. If there is too much salt or saltpetre 
adhering to the surface of the hams, the water will 
take it off. The smoke should be made of clean 
green hickory. A fire should be built only in dry 
weather. And when the meat has acquired a yel- 



SWINE BREEDER. 299 

low tinge, not red or black, they are removed, and 
hung up in a dark place where they are not disturb- 
ed by flies or vermin." 

In the second volume of the same valuable agri- 
cultural periodical,* will be found a detail of the 
modes pursued by Mr T. W. .Tohnson, of Frederick 
County, Md., in raising and curing pork. In regard 
to the latter subject Mr J. writes as follows. 

"I have a small and very substantial pen made 
convenient to the slaughter house, so as to bring 
them into as small a compass as possible, for the 
greater facility of catching ; as soon as one is caught 
he is brought out of the pen and laid upon his back 
on some loose planks a little elevated from the 
ground to admit the blood to escape : he is then 
stuck and held fast until dead ; not permitted to 
struggle or wallow in his blood or become bruised, 
as a bruise at that time wnl be manifest even after 
it is cooked and brought on the table. As to the 
mode of scalding and cleaning, &c. &c., it is unne- 
cessary to give any directions. Unless the weather 
is so cold as to endanger its freezing, it is suffered 
to hang out all night, so as to become thoroughly 
cold and stiff, when it will cut up much more smooth 
and neat. As to the mode of cutting up, I shall say 
but little. I make six pieces from each hog for 
salting, the feet should always be sawed ofT instead 
of being cut off with an axe or cleaver, as it will 
leave a smoother surface and prevent any place for 
the lodgment of skippers. The feet should be cut 
off a little below the joint. 

" The next and most important matter is the salt- 
ing. It is almost impossible to find two persons who 

*pp. 113-114. 



300 



THE AMERICAN 



agree as to the best mode ; some use fine, some 
coarse salt, some cayenne pepper, some sugar, some 
molasses, some nitre, and some none, and some 
again prefer brining. But as I have promised to 
give you my method, I shall proceed to do so. 
After cutting up my pork, I select my hams and 
shoulders, lay them side by side, skin down, on some 
loose planks elevated at one end to permit the blood 
to drain off freely ; they are then salted, or what is 
called sprinkled, with the best clean Liverpool ground 
alum salt. After remaining in this situation for two 
or three days, or until they become perfectly white, 
they are taken up piece by piece and laid on a 
clean table ; to each ham and shoulder, according 
to size, I put two tea-spoonfuls or more of finely 
pulverized nitre, rubbing with the hand both the 
flesh and the skin side ; it is then well rubbed with 
salt and laid in a clean tub — after putting in as many 
pieces, side by side, skin down, as the bottom of the 
tub will contain, I fill up all the interstices with salt, 
then another layer of meat and salt, and so proceed 
until the tub is full. In four or six weeks, in a good 
cellar, it will have absorbed as much salt as it ever 
will, (you see from this remark, I do not believe in 
over salting hams and shoulders.") 

A third correspondent, in the same volume and 
number, (p. 162) remarks " the following is my mode 
of curing hams. 

"It is plain, simple, and easy to follow. For 
eveiy ham,* shoulder, or jowl, I take as many 
handfuls of fine salt, and as many large tea -spoon- 
fuls of pulverized saltpetre ; this is put into a tub 
and well mixed together ; then pour in as much mo- 

* Hams weighing from 12 to 15 lbs. 



SWINB BREEDER. 301 

lasses as will give it the appearance of good brown 
sugar. With one handful 1 of this mixture, rub 
each piece of meat on both sides, and then pack 
them down in a cask : if any mixture remains, pour 
it on the meat. Let them remain fifteen or eighteen 
days. Then take equal proportions of strong ley 
and pickle that will float an egg or a potato, pour it 
into the cask until your meat is covered ; place a 
weight -on to prevent it from rising, and let it re- 
main fifteen or eighteen days ; then take it out and 
let it drain for several days. Hams and shoulders 
should be hung with the hock downwards. A frame 
smoke house is much superior to either brick or 
atone, for smoking meat. Green hickory or sugar 
maple makes the best smoke. Hams cured accord- 
ing to this receipt, are very superior." 

The Empress of Russia's Brine. This brine 
has been highly recommended by foreign writers, as 
an excellent one for pork, &c. The following is 
the manner in wliich it is prepared. 

" Boil together, over a gentle fire, six pounds of 
common salt, two pounds of powdered loaf sugar, 
three ounces of saltpetre, and three gallons of spring 
water. Skim it while boiling, and when quite cold, 
pour it over the meat, every part of which must be 
covered with the brine. 

" Small pork will be sufficiently cured in four or 
five days ; hams intended for drying, in two weeks, 
unless they are very large. The pickle may be 
used again and again, if it be fresh boiled up with a 
small addition of the ingredients. Before putting 
the meat into the brine, soak it in water, press out 
the blood, and wipe it clean." 

Mr Tomlinson, of Schenectady, N. Y., in a com 
munication to the Cultivator, says : " The following 



302 THE AMEEICAN 

method of dressing large hogs may be useful to 
your readers ; if you think so, publish it. After the 
hogs are laid on the lumber sleigh, or whatever else 
is used to dress them on, they are dusted over with 
finely powdered rosin, from a dredging box ; then 
they are covered with horse blankets, and hot water 
sufficient to wet them thoroughly, is sprinkled on 
them with a watering pot. In a short time they will 
be scalded so that the hair will come off easily, and 
they will be cleaned as well as in the usual way of 
scalding in a cask. I received this information from 
Mr John Clark, who told me he once had a hog 
which weighed more than six hundred pounds, dress- 
ed in first rate style by this method. Also from Mr 
James Rosa, who a i'ew years since, saw in Boston, 
Mass., several large hogs completely dressed, in the 
same manner. These are two of our most respect- 
able farmers." 

After hogs are slaughtered they should be per- 
mitted to hang a sufficient time to become thorough' 
ly cooled throughout the entire carcass. If taken 
down too soon and the sides closed together, there is 
danger that the region near the back bone, and the 
more fleshy parts, will become tainted before the 
owner is aware of the fact. 

As illustrative of these remarks we give the fol- 
lowing statements of a correspondent of the Maine 
Cultivator. " A gendeman from Somerset county 
brought to this market, recently slaughtered, one of 
the handsomest hogs that ever engaged the attention 
of our citizens. He was so plump and fat that his 
eyes were actually grown over. His weight was 506 
pounds. A traveller purchased him at an extra 
price ; but on proceeding to cut him up, it was found 
that most of the inner depths of flesh were tainted 
and spoiled. This misfortune was in consequence 



SWINE BREEDER. 303 

of taking the carcass down before it had become 
thoroughly cooled. The gentleman who brought 
him to market, on being called to notice the condi- 
tion of the pork, took the hog back again from the 
merchant, and in a hot day carted him home again 
— what to do with him we know not. The loss of 
fortyfive dollars in a premium hog, for the sake of 
saving a half dozen pounds weight that might have 
been drained off, had the carcass hung long enough 
to become internally cooled, was in this case poor 
policy — if indeed there was any such motive which 
governed the proceeding." 

Smoke Houses. Much depends on the proper con- 
struction of smoke houses. These buildings are made 
of stone, brick, or wood, — but the latter material is 
in general found most suitable to the purposes pro- 
posed. Free ventilation is expected in a well con- 
structed smoke house. The roof only should be 
tight ; in every other part openings should be made so 
as to allow the admission and egress of smoke in, 
and from, every direction. One of the best smoke 
houses with which we are acquainted is built as fol- 
lows. It is formed with a cellar ten feet deep, 
walled with stones. On this cellar is placed a build- 
ing, six feet square, hoarded in the manner of a barn, 
but not closely jointed or fastened. The cervices 
thus formed between the boards afford sufficient ven- 
tilation, and the meat is found to dry and smoke 
thoroughly. 

In moderate fall or winter weather, one " smoke " 
is regarded as sufficient for the space of twentyfour 
hours — but in severe weather two may be needed. 
The smallest possible fire should be made that will 
secure the necessary amount of smoke, and the 
hams should be suffered to get thoroughly cooled 



304 



THE AMERICAN SWINE BREEDER. 



after each smoking, before another is applied. When 
the heat is so great as to cause a dripping of the 
fat, the weight of the hams is diminished, and the 
flavor injured. Sound maple wood, well seasoned, 
is preferred for the fuel of smoke houses, as ii pre- 
serves a slow and constant fuel, and communicates 
no disagreeable flavor to the flesh. 




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